Victor Osimhen, the Super Eagles striker, has revealed that his greatest ambition is to win the African Footballer of the Year award. The last Nigerian to claim the prize was Nwankwo Kanu in 1999, when he edged Ghana’s Samuel Kuffour and Ivory Coast’s Ibrahima Bakayoko. Osimhen’s outstanding form this season with Napoli—who are closing in on the Serie A title for the first time in 33 years—has placed him among the leading contenders for an award that no Nigerian has secured in the past 21 years.
The 24‑year‑old Nigeria international is currently the highest‑scoring African player in Europe’s top five leagues, having netted 21 goals. He ranks third overall, behind Manchester City’s Erling Haaland and Tottenham’s Harry Kane, who have scored 30 and 23 goals respectively. “I am not going to lie, it would be my dream to be African Footballer of the Year,” Osimhen told the Daily Mail. “I was at the ceremony in 2015 when Pierre‑Emerick Aubameyang won the award. As an African, you dream of this prize and maybe I can win.”
He added, “I think I still have a long way to go in achieving that dream. I am really working towards that direction and I think I’m on the right path. But as a man, it won’t be easy. Having my own family here has made a dream come true. Football is the only thing on my mind and I want to keep focusing, and of course, a lot is expected of me, so I’m here to deliver.”
Osimhen, who joined Napoli for an African‑record fee of €81 million, will face stiff competition for the award from Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, Bayern Munich’s Sadio Mane and Manchester City’s Riyad Mahrez.
In parallel, Italy’s financial police, the Guardia di Finanza, acting on behalf of the Naples Public Prosecutor’s Office, have collected documents as part of an investigation into Napoli’s transfer of Osimhen. La Repubblica reports that Napoli agreed to a €71.2 million deal with Lille in September 2020, of which €20.1 million comprised four players sent in exchange. Authorities suspect these players were overvalued to inflate capital gains.
The Guardia di Finanza visited Turris, a Serie C club, and obtained paperwork concerning the purchase and subsequent sale of Claudio Manzi, one of the four players involved in the Osimhen deal alongside Luigi Liguori, Ciro Palmieri and Orestis Karnezis. Manzi was transferred to Lille for €4 million in September 2020 but never moved to France; instead, he signed a loan with Fermana immediately. Less than a year later, Lille released him on a free transfer, after which he joined Turris, which later sold him to Virtus Entella for around €120 000.
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