Sensational Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen signs record deal with Napoli for 80 million Euros

The Italian club Napoli has been following the Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen for years, when they finally decided to pull the trigger and signed him from Lille on a permanent transfer. Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis told ‘La Gazzetta dello Sport’ the deal is for a club record fee of 70 million euros plus another 10 million in bonuses. Nigerian international star Osimhen only joined Lille last summer from Charleroi and had an excellent season in France with 13 league goals.

This story begins with humble beginnings, until the 21-year-olds soccer career took off he had lived a difficult life. He grew up in the Lagos area near a dumpsite, one of the largest dumpsite’s in Africa. Just like many of Africa’s children, poverty was all Osimhen knew growing up. At age 6, tragedy struck the Osimhen family, his mother passed away. As many who have lost mothers at young ages would tell you, life is never the same. Soon after his father lost his job, wondering where the next meal was going to come from was in the forefront of the youngster’s mind. Poverty can either break us or it can make us, but Osimhen a child had to grow up fast. Alongside attending primary school, he and his siblings began hustling on the streets of Lagos, selling everything from water to oranges. When they were allowed to be children Osimhen and his siblings would play soccer with their primary school friends.

Of his many talents, soccer was his greatest talent his older brother would discover. As a youngster Victor would watch his older brother compete with the other kids in the evenings. His older hoping to be a soccer star himself, watching his younger brother play exceptionally decided that Victor was the true soccer star. His older brother quit his aspirations to be a footballer and begin supporting his younger brothers’ talent. Life changed a few years later when Victor went to the 2015 Nigeria’s U-17 tryouts for the FIFA World Cup U-17 Tournament. Victor was intimated by the number of people at the tryouts but did his best by scoring a few goals in the 15-minute tryouts. That was enough to get noticed by the coaches and he was invited back to the camp, where eventually his talents would land him on the Nigeria U-17 team that would compete in the FIFA World Cup in Chile.

Chile turns out was to Victor’s liking, he was instrumental to the Nigeria U-17 Golden Eaglets victory, scoring 10 goals and winning the tournament. He earned the tournament’s Golden Boot and Silver Ball. His outstanding performance at the tournament got the attention of major soccer clubs all over the world. Though it wasn’t an easy journey, 5 years later through perseverance he has become one of Africa’s brightest soccer talents. A boy who grew up in poverty, suffered tragedy at a young age, has earned praise around the world and the largest contract giving to a player from Africa. Victor Osimhen is a person all of Africa should be proud of, except when the Golden Eagles are playing one of our teams of course.