There is no doubt that Victor Osimhen has cemented his place in Napoli’s history as one of the best players to have ever played for the club having led the Partenopei to their first league triumph in 33 years.
Osimhen has scored 22 goals and registered four assists in the Serie A this season, making him the Napoli player with the most goal contributions.
It is no coincidence that it was his goal that confirmed Napoli as League Champions as he scored in the 57th minute to salvage a point in their 1-1 draw with Udinese on Thursday night.
A point was enough to confirm Napoli as league Champions having garnered 80 points, 16 more than their closest rival, Lazio with 5 games left.
Osimhen’s story teaches patience with players who have moved from one club to another regardless of the transfer fee.
In Osimhen’s first season with Napoli which was the 2020/2021 season, he could only manage 10 goals. That didn’t sit well with some fans and pundits in Italy that a player that cost €70million could score so little even if it was his first season.
His poor goal return made veteran Italian journalist, Gianluca Di Marzio question the quality of the young Nigerian striker.
A year later (2021/2022 season), the former Lille striker bagged 14 league goals and was named the Serie A Best Young Player of the Year award.
This year, he is on the verge of winning the Golden Boot and could win the Serie A Most Valuable Player of the Year Award.
While it is normal to expect a player to hit the ground running right from his first day at the club, we need to realize that some players need to be afforded some time before they settle in.
Not every player can be Erling Haaland, it’s time pundits and fans started giving players ample time before writing them off.
We need to realize how difficult it is for a player to move from one country to another where he will have to get used to a new culture, and environment, learn the language and get used to the style of play of his new league.
In conclusion, while it is well-encouraged that new players be afforded time to settle at a new club, some are incurably bad and one wouldn’t need the eyeglasses of Alex Ferguson to know that they can’t play at the top level.
There is no harm in condemning or disposing of such players at the earliest opportunity.
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