statisticallyNigerian striker Victor Osimhen is enjoying his best run with Italian club Napoli since he joined for a record fee in 2020 and there could be more for the player before the end of the season, reports PUNCH Sports Extra.
The forward became the club’s record signing in Serie A after signing for an initial 50 million euros plus accessories.
Osimhen has scored 10 Serie A goals in 13 appearances for Napoli this season, and his contributions, among others, currently keep the club at the top of the table with 44 points from 17 matches.
In his third season with Napoli, a deeper look at the previous season’s statistics shows that the player has dwarfed his numbers from the previous two seasons, and could be on his way to setting a remarkable club record at this rate.
In just 13 appearances this season, Osimhen has scored 10 Serie A goals, equaling the total number of league goals he scored in his first season (10 goals in 24 appearances), while coming within four goals of the total number of league goals he scored last season (14 goals in 27 games).
Having played roughly half the games he played in each of the previous seasons, Osimhen’s tally could well double at his current rate of 1.3 goals per game.
Seemingly due to his form, the striker has been topping transfer rumors since the summer, but to the surprise of many, he stayed with Napoli at the start of the season amid links with the likes of PSG, PSG, Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester united and chelsea
Avoiding the striker’s transfer interests must be difficult for Napoli, and they may well be reaping the rewards of not letting the player go, as they are on course to clinch their first league title since the 1989/1990 season.
The last time they won the league, they set a new club record for points scored over the course of the season with 51 from 34 games and scoring 57 goals in the process.
Diego Maradona scored 16 of the team’s 57 goals that season, while contributions from other players such as Careca and Gianfranco Zola gave Napoli enough of an offensive advantage to claim the title.
Osihmen is proving to be Napoli’s pivot this year, and he has reliable teammates in Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Piotr Zielinski, Giovanni Simeone, Giacomo Raspadori, Hirving Lozano and Matteo Politano, who have all turned up for the club, even when Osimhen was away. injured at the start of the season.
Perhaps the thirst to level up is why the Nigerian has been in excellent form this season.
After responding to their first defeat of the season against Inter with a 2-0 win over Sampdoria last week, Napoli are now seven points clear of their title contenders and rivals. On Friday, the Azzurri will play Massimiliano Allegri’s Juventus in what could be a crucial match for the title race. If Napoli avoid losing against the Bianconeri, they will definitely be the main candidates to win a historic Scudetto.
If they achieve a successful run, it will also be Osimhen’s first league title.
Speaking at the post-match conference after the win over Sampdoria, the 24-year-old goal poacher thanked Napoli manager Luciano Spalletti for his leadership and his teammates for the win over Sampdoria.
“First of all, congratulations to the team on their victory. We didn’t play well at the San Siro against Inter, but we reacted well. It was important to start the game well. I’m happy with the goal”, according to Area Napoli.
“Spalletti said that I am a leader? I thank Spalletti for the nice words, I feel like a leader, but we all have to contribute for the good of the team”.
Osimhen will be hoping to continue his fine form when the Partenopeans host Juventus on Friday in a potentially explosive Serie A clash.
“Napoli vs Juventus will be a great challenge, we will play against a great team. Now we are going to relax, then we will start to think about that game in which everyone can make a difference”.
The Nigerian striker also set a new Serie A record by becoming the second African player to score more than 10 goals in three different Serie A seasons, after George Weah with Milan in the 1995/96, 1996/ 97 and 1997/98.
