Nigerian teenage striker, Victor Osimhen has officially signed a professional contract with VFL Wolfsburg, which automatically provides him the opportunity to play for the senior team in the German Bundesliga.
The German club in their collaboration with the Ultimate Striker’s Academy, the 18-year-old FIFA U-17 World Cup record scorer and the Wolves had the intention of definitively finalizing the move as from 2017.
The tall attacker was officially presented as a Green-White player on Thursday.”We have been intensively observing Victor’s development over a long period and we were able to secure the signing in spite of interest from big clubs from abroad.
Victor‘s profile totally fits into our philosophy of not only developing talented young players from within the club, but also binding foreign players to VfL in the long-term,” explained VfL’s Sporting director Olaf Rebbe.
Osimhen captured the attention of the broader public during the U17 World Cup in Chile, with Nigeria claiming the title and the striker earning the top-scorer accolade with ten goals in the tournament. Rebbe.
“We pay close attention to international tournaments in all age-groups. The U-17 World Cup in Chile proved particularly interesting. In Ismail Azzaoui, Josip Brekalo and now Victor Osimhen, we have three players in our squad that participated in that tournament.”
Head-coach Valérien Ismaël commented on the qualities of the new man, who was twice in Wolfsburg as a guest player: “Although just 18, Victor already possesses great presence in attack. He has a good eye for goal and is fast for a lad of his height. He does need to build up a bit physically and get used to how football is played in Germany, but we intend to help him take those steps.”
The young Nigerian took questions from the journalists on Wednesday in English, but is already busily learning German. One of the words the youngster has already learned is “kämpfen” (battling), which he intends to implement on the football pitch.
“I’d like to thank the coach and the sporting director for having me here, giving me this chance and for believing in me. Wolfsburg is the right place for me to get my career started. It’s up to me to give something back now. To do that, I must work hard and learn,” said Osimhen in his first interview as a Green-White.
And it’s not only the prospects making Osimhen feel right at home in Wolfsburg either. He is already getting on very well with his new team mates. “They are all very friendly to me and tell me lots about the club,” explained the striker, who is still being cautious following knee surgery in the autumn.
“When I’m needed, I want to help the team, but I am a young player and I can wait until my time comes.”
