Victor Osimhen peers into the screen in front of him before giving a thumbs-up and a cheery wave.
It is long into the evening in Lagos, just a few weeks before he and his Napoli team-mates would celebrate winning the club’s first Serie A title in 33 years since the days of Diego Maradona. But happily for Mail Sport, the Nigerian superstar proved easier to pin down than he was for those unlucky centre-backs tasked with stopping him during the 2022-23 campaign.
A shining light of the European game with 31 goals that season, the Napoli forward is an idol in his native Nigeria and has since emerged one of the hottest properties in the transfer market, yesterday closing in on a stunning move to Chelsea.
The 24-year-old hitman, who is reportedly involved in a £39million swap deal with Blues outcast Romelu Lukaku and youngster Cesare Casadei set to move in the other direction, was that year valued by Napoli at a minimum of £150m and admitted it was his ‘dream’ to play in the Premier League.
Settling down in his hotel room for his first major interview with a UK media outlet, Osimhen delivers a fascinating account of his journey to becoming one of the best strikers in the world.
Victor Osimhen is closing in on a sensational move to Chelsea, as part of a £39m swap deal
The Nigerian superstar’s stunning form back in 2022-23 powered Napoli to the Serie A title
Growing up in difficult circumstances in the Lagos suburbs, Osimhen sold oranges and bottled water on the city’s streets to make ends meet, and saw his local football pitches shut down.
He moved to German club Wolfsburg aged 17 and found the separation from friends and family ‘traumatising’.
After gradual improvement at Charleroi in Belgium and French club Lille, Osimhen’s career took off in Italy. He guided Napoli the historic honours with 26 Serie A goals in 2022-23, and followed that up with 15 league goals last campaign – in a season affected by minor injuries and his involvement at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Since becoming a European superstar, Osimhen is now a little more cautious when asked about English football, but his inspiration is one of the icons of the Premier League era – Didier Drogba.
Mention the former Chelsea striker’s name and Osimhen becomes a pure fan again.
The striker is a darling of the Napoli fans after helping to end their long 33-year wait for the title
Chelsea’s new boss Enzo Maresca would welcome a striker of Osimhen’s quality in his squad
The Nigerian international admits he has always ‘dreamed’ of a move to the Premier League
‘I have always supported Drogba and I have huge love and admiration for him,’ he gushes.
‘I remember when he scored the equaliser in the 2012 Champions League Final, an amazing header, and the way I celebrated was as though I had scored the goal. My friends knew I was obsessed with Drogba.
‘When I scored 10 goals and won the Golden Boot at the Under-17 World Cup in 2015, one of the Nigeria staff showed me a tweet from Drogba. It said “Congratulations Victor. I wish you all the best for the future.”
‘I was shocked. I never believed someone like Didier Drogba would tweet those words to a young aspiring striker. It gave me a whole new motivation to succeed.
Osimhen recalls fondly the impact his idol Didier Drogba made when Chelsea won the 2012 Champions League final
‘Trust me, he has been so helpful. One morning last year I woke up and checked my Instagram, and found messages to me from him, complimenting me, but saying I still had a long way to go. It’s amazing to be in contact with him.
‘I try to model my game on his and there are a lot of things I can take from his game and add to my own, so there is nothing better for a young player.
‘He’s a hero in his country, he’s played to the highest level, won a lot and made African youngsters dream. He’s a busy man but whenever he sees my messages on Instagram he replies immediately. It’s a great feeling.’
Doubtless Osimhen now has the same status among Africa’s young forwards. And if not every Premier League follower is familiar with his work, they soon will be.
He may not be quite as prolific as Erling Haaland – who is? – but Osimhen is arguably a more complete No 9. He is technically outstanding, powerful in the air, quick, athletic and intelligent.
Wearing a protective mask on the pitch after breaking his cheekbone and eye socket in November 2021, the 24-year-old even looked like a superhero.
But for the duration of our interview, he is far more like Clark Kent, with his unaffected, easy manner and engaging conversation.
The idea of Osimhen vs Haaland duel for the Premier League Golden Boot is thrilling yet Osimhen reveals that the pair already share great mutual respect.
Osimhen is on good terms with Manchester City’s superstar striker Erling Haaland, who has taken the Premier League by storm since his arrival from Borussia Dortmund back in 2022
Osimhen became something of a masked raider after breaking his cheekbone in 2021
‘I play with Leo Ostigard at Napoli, who is very good friends with Haaland and plays for Norway with him,’ Osimhen explains.
‘I am a fan of the Bundesliga so I’ve followed him for a while and every weekend he seems to score two, three, four goals.
‘Ostigard spoke to me a lot about him, how hard he trained, then one day he said: ‘If you want, I can bring you his shirt.’ I said: ‘Of course, bro.’
‘So he spoke to Haaland, who also asked for my shirt, so we swapped them through Ostigard. He is one of the best of his generation so to be compared with him – and considered one of the best strikers in the world – only inspires me to do more.
‘I can score four goals in a game, I can provide more assists, I can do many more things as I have the quality to execute them. I need to work even harder and then at the end of my career I can hopefully look back and say yes, I did some wonderful things.
Napoli fans placed cardboard cut-outs of Osimhen and other players on the beach in 2023
Modern day Napoli heroes like Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia can be found on the streets alongside the greatest of them all, Diego Maradona, who won the title twice with the club
‘Everyone watches the EPL (Premier League), it is really competitive, but Serie A is also one of the strongest leagues. When Cristiano Ronaldo played there, he said the same thing. I am really happy to be there.
‘If we can win the title for Napoli, the city will never be the same again. When you go to the city, the fans have tears in their eyes. They haven’t won the league since Maradona’s time (1990) and they are so close to realising this dream.
‘Sometimes they come to the players’ houses to show their love, as late as 2am. Naples bleeds for football and I have imagined many times how the city will explode if we can win the Scudetto (league title). We have chances to go far in the Champions League, too.’
Ostigard this summer completed a move to Rennes in France, calling an end to his two-year spell with Osimhen and Napoli.
Osimhen’s rise is all the more impressive considering the adversity he has experienced. His was not the smooth path of the golden prospect who is taken into the academy of a top club in his early years and progresses into the first team.
There have been sacrifices throughout his story which make today’s success all the sweeter, as he rubs shoulders with Nigerian greats like Jay Jay Okocha, Kanu, Rashidi Yekini and Emmanuel Amunike.
Osimhen’s style of play is unselfish yet he would not be human if he were not attracted by personal goals, with the African Footballer of the Year award – won by Drogba in 2006 and 2009 – a triumph on his portfolio of honours.
‘I started playing football at seven or eight but I was not really into it as I was still going with my sisters to sell oranges,’ he recalls. ‘I knew I was good at it but then at a certain point I realised I had to take it seriously.
‘They closed down the pitch at my primary school and we had a lot of talented players, but most of them went to get jobs. After that I had to walk for an hour to train at a secondary school outside my community.
‘At the same time I was selling bottled water in the Lagos traffic, trying to help my family however I could. I had trials for the Nigeria Under-17 side, meaning a five-hour journey to (capital city) Abuja.
‘Initially I didn’t make the grade and when I found out, I had tears in my eyes. But I kept pushing and eventually I was chosen. The Under-17 World Cup was a turning point for me.’
The powerful forward has scored 21 goals in 35 international outings for his country Nigeria
Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly has spent just under £200m already this summer on new stars
Ahead of being honoured as the best African player in the world in 2023, he added: ‘I am not going to lie. It would be my dream to be African Footballer of the Year. I was at the ceremony in 2015, when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang won the award. As an African you dream of this prize and maybe I can win.
‘My first experience of European football, at Wolfsburg, was difficult. But it paved the way for what I have done since. I know that if I change countries, I will adapt quickly.
‘I am not the type of player who folds under pressure and I try to stay calm in every situation. The season is going really well. I have putting up some amazing numbers and I am proud of what I have achieved – but I am not done yet.’