On July 31st, 2020, Napoli announced the signing of the Super Eagles Starlet – Victor Osimhen. The club-record deal is worth about €70 million potentially rising to €80 million with add-ons. Since then, Osimhen has become the most expensive African Footballer to date.

How far has Victor Osimhen come? How did this 22-year-old young man become the most expensive African Footballer?

The Humble Beginning of Victor Osimhen

Victor Osimhen, like most Nigerian footballers, hails from a poor family. Reports say that Osimhen had to hawk water to survive and that his elder brother Patrick dropped out of school to look after Victor and his other younger siblings.

According to Lifebogger, Osimhen grew up in Oregun, Ikeja, and attended Olusosun Primary School – a government school (where the football journey began.)

How Osimhen Came to Limelight

Victor Osimhen’s name became very popular amongst football fans after his mind-blowing performance at the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup.

The young striker then won the Golden Boot and Silver Ball at the end of the tournament.

Outstandingly, Osimhen scored 10 goals in the tournament. Also, he scored in every single match of the competition – the only footballer to ever achieve such a feat.

The Osimhen and Lile Partnership

After a relatively successful stint at VfL Wolfsburg and Charleroi, Osimhen, who is a product of one of the best football academies in Nigeria, would go on to sign for Lile in 2019.

It was at Lile that the young Super Eagles striker made a name for himself at club level. He announced himself for the French club by scoring a brace against Nantes on his debut.

Overall, Victor Osimhen finished the season as Lile’s highest goal scorer with 18 goals in all competitions.

At this point, top clubs in Europe were already scouting him. 

Osimhen To Napoli

Since Napoli Sold Higuain to Juventus, Napoli never really had a proper No. 9 who could score goals regularly.

Napoli signed Arkadiusz Milik to replace Higuain but he never really did. Injuries and lack of consistency ruined his Napoli career before being shipped to Olympique Marseille.

During that period of Milik’s absence, Andres Meertens, a natural winger, adopted the No. 9 position and scored regularly.

However, it was still obvious that Napoli needed a natural striker who would properly replace Higuain. Then Napoli turned their attention to the Super Eagles Frontman – Osimhen. Napoli paid a club-record 80M Euros to buy Osimhen from Lile.

Today, Osimhen is the most expensive Nigerian Footballer ever.

Final Thoughts on Victor Osimhen

So far, the super Eagles striker has helped Napoli to top the Serie A table. In the process, Napoli remains the only team in Europe’s top 5 Leagues to maintain a 100% League record.

In the Serie A, the Nigerian hitman has scored 4 goals in 5 matches already. Indeed, the season looks really promising for the most expensive African footballer.

The Super Eagles of Nigeria would hope that Osimhen would lead the team to glory in the forthcoming AFCON which would kick off in January. 

However, in the meantime, we are proud that our young Super Eagles striker plays for a big club like Napoli and that he is the most expensive African footballer for now.