The former Wolfsburg forward has his name literally on every Nigerian lips after his latest goalscoring feat in Lesotho but a veteran goalscorer has revealed how he played his part in the youngster’s success story with the national team.
Odion Ighalo has let out the secret striker tips he shared with Osimhen when the two goalgetters trained together during the 2019 AFCON tournament in Egypt.
Nigeria returned from that event after claiming a bronze medal with Ighalo’s unmatched 5 goals key to that decent outing.
The former Watford striker – AFCON 2019 Golden Boot winner – however, shocked many by announcing his retirement from the Super Eagles as soon as the tournament was brought to a close but not many knew that he had been grooming his successor.
Coach Gernot Rohr immediately promoted Victor Osimhen to the Super Eagles number 9 role and the 20-year-old has not disappointed since, scoring four goals in his last four games including the brace of goals – and assists – that condemned Lesotho to a 4-2 defeat in Maseru on Sunday.
“I always told him that he has everything it takes to lead this attack, but it all depends on him,” Ighalo told ESPN after the game against Lesotho, as observed by Soccernet.ng.
“I told him he has to keep working hard, stay humble and always be ready to learn, and above all not to get carried away with success or hype but just to keep improving.”