World Cup winner reveals how Victor Osimhen can become a Serie A icon

The Nigerian youngster has started the 2021/22 season in stunning style, and he has been tipped to achieve greatness in his time in Italy

Nigerian forward Victor Osimhen’s excellent start to the new Serie A campaign has won him a new fan in 1982 World Cup winner Francesco “Ciccio” Graziani.

Osimhen’s pace, power, and overall robust play have made Ciccio Graziani refer to the young striker as a gazelle and irreplaceable for the Neapolitans.

Graziani, who was inducted into the Torino Hall of Fame in 2017 for helping the club win the 1975-76 Serie A title, even believes the Super Eagles star has nearly all the qualities needed to become an icon of the Italian elite division.

“He (Osimhen) is a gazelle because when he starts in space, he cannot be stopped,” the 1976-77 Serie A top scorer told Il Mattino as per TuttoNapoli.

“Not only is he fast, but he is also powerful. In Napoli, he’s irreplaceable, like Koulibaly.

“Osimhen has unique qualities. Now he just has to consecrate himself, and to do that, he has to win a Scudetto or at least the Serie A top scorers’ award.

“He has to improve in the aerial game.”

Ending the Serie A season top of the goals chart will not be easy for Osimhen as the former Lille lad is likely to miss a month of club football when he leaves with the Nigerian national team for the Africa Cup of Nations in January.

The task becomes even more challenging as other quality strikers like Ciro Immobile (7 goals), Edin Dzeko (6), and Lautaro Martinez (5) appear to be in top form.

Osimhen will hunt for his fifth league goal of the season when Napoli host Graziani’s former side Torino at the Diego Maradona Stadium on Sunday.

Thirteen points separate high-flying Napoli and the 11th placed visitors on the Serie A table, with a win or a draw good enough to send Luciano Spalletti’s men above AC Milan and back to the league summit.