Napoli striker Victor Osimhen is a name that has popped up in discussions lately when listing out the top young strikers in world football.Napoli striker Victor Osimhen is a name that has popped up in discussions lately when listing out the top young strikers in world football.
Osimhen was signed by the Partenopei in 2020 for €81.3 million (a figure still being disputed by some who claim that the Italian club manipulated the actual numbers in the media) making him the most expensive African player. Since then, he has taken the Serie A by storm and has seen his value rise.
The 6 ft 1 in striker has brought Napoli back to the forefront in modern football after a poor run of form which saw them lose their stock among neutrals. He has been compared to Erling Haaland in his aggressive style of play but it is well known that only a few compare to the 6 ft 4 in giant who Manchester City will unleash on the Premier League next season.
It is these comparisons and discussions that have led to multiple interests from several clubs from Germany, Spain and England.
Napoli have slapped a €110 million price tag on the player as a result and are reportedly only willing to listen to offers in that range. It has not stopped the offers from coming, however, but it does beg the question, "Is Osimhen worth that much?"
What is Osimhen worth?
Considering his goal record in the Serie A,
Napoli seem to be asking for an arm and a leg. His numbers are good but he is yet to score against any of the league's historical top sides - Juventus, AC Milan and Internazionale.
This calls to doubt his actual ability in big games for the many who only judge a striker by the goals they score and not their overall gameplay.
Comparing him to the other top players in the world, CIES football observatory has placed his value at €51 million. This is more than half of what Napoli want from Osimhen and is the capped amount that most clubs interested in the striker are willing to pay.
Osimhen at Napoli
Since joining the Partenopei in 2020, the 23-year-old has played 51 of the possible 76 league games from both seasons combined, missing 25 games through lengthy injury spells.
In that time, however, he has scored 24
league goals and is their highest goalscorer in both seasons combined. The Nigerian international also won seven penalties for the club in the just concluded season but did not take any single one of them, denying him of seven possible goals which could have taken his tally to 21 goals from 27 games.
The stats from his time at the club also show that Napoli are at their most dangerous in attack when Osimhen is playing and this makes him invaluable to Luciano Spalletti's side.
He also won the Serie A young player of the year ahead of Dusan Vlahovic who scored 21 goals for both
Juventus and Fiorentina.
And in the 2021/22 season, his performances also outshined Tammy Abraham's who bagged 17 league goals for AS Roma in his first stint in Italy.
These are qualities of every top striker and in today's transfer market and it is worth the big bucks.
The verdict
Seeing all the qualities he possesses, Napoli are not wrong in asking for an amount in that range.
While it is unlikely that any club pays that amount for the Nigerian, Napoli deserve to make a profit on the striker for all the qualities he has.
The final - and probably most important - point is that his value is on the upward trend.
He was worth less than €1 million while he was still at RSC Charleroi in Belgium. Napoli will be hard pressed to not sell Osimhen for enough money seeing that he became even more highly rated while at their club.
Victor Osimhen is a €100 million striker.
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