Victor Osimhen Should Not Have Joined Napoli – Etim Esin

The former Lille forward had suitors from all over Europe, but settled for Il Partenopei after meeting with owner Di Laurentiis and manager Gennaro Gattuso despite initial fears about racism

Former Nigeria international Etim Esin is not convinced that the Serie A is the best place for Victor Osimhen to continue his development, insisting that he would not have advised his younger compatriot to join Napoli.

Osimhen signed for the Blues in August for a fee that made his move the most expensive African transfer of all time, after excelling at Lille last term.

Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, and AC Milan were known admirers of the Super Eagles striker, while Liverpool and Tottenham reportedly tried to secure his signature this summer.

A long drawn transfer saga – fueled by Osimhen’s reservations towards rampant racism in Italy – was eventually brought to a close after the youngster changed his advisers and put pen to paper on a five-year deal.

But former midfield dazzler Esin says he would have discouraged Osimhen from joining Napoli if he was one of the 21-year-old’s advisers.

“I’m not trying to say that he made the wrong choice now,” Esin told the Premium Times.

“But I wouldn’t have advised him to go to Italy because it’s such a difficult league itself.

“Let’s just hope he is injury-free, then we can rest assured that we have a potential in that boy.

“He is a box to box player who can make things happen for us but again, you must also play around good players too if really you want to excel.

“I feel with the emergence of Chukwueze and other young players. It won’t be out of place if Nigeria wins the next AFCON.”

Osimhen made his Serie A debut last weekend, providing an assist as Napoli claimed a fine 2-0 win at Parma.

The former Royal Charleroi star will hope to open his goalscoring account for the Gattuso-tutored side when they host Genoa on Sunday.