The youngster recently switched the French Ligue 1 for the Italian top flight, and his international teammate has backed him to develop further in the country
Crotone’s Nigerian striker Simeon Nwankwo is pleased with Victor Osimhen’s arrival in Italy, maintaining that the youngster could not have joined a better team than Napoli.
Osimhen put pen to paper last week to complete a $96 million deal to Napoli having impressed in his only season at Lille scoring 18 goals in all competitions.
The 21-year-old adds his name to the growing bunch of Nigerians who play in the Serie A, which includes Nwankwo, William Troost-Ekong and Ola Aina.
Nwankwo, fondly called ‘Simy’, is one of Nigeria’s most prolific strikers in Europe, having netted 20 goals to help Crotone gain promotion to the Italian top-flight.
While cautioning that the Serie A is not an easy league to star in, but Simy is confident that Napoli’s attack-focused football will allow Osimhen to grow and thrive.
“I’m so happy that Victor is coming in. It is such a big team and an important and difficult league, if not the number one tactical and defensive league in the world,” Nwankwo told ESPN.
“You know, it is one thing watching from the outside, another thing is actually playing from the inside. But I’m glad Victor is coming into a team that plays football and it will be very, very important for him.
“He will definitely grow. He will never be the same player again — that I can assure you. He will grow as a person, he will grow as a player, he will grow because Napoli is a really good team — and the league, too.”
Osimhen signed a five-year contract that could keep him in Italy till 2025.