Nigerian international Victor Osimhen has said the day he made his debut for French Ligue 1 club Lille was his fondest moment in football.
Osimhen transferred from RSC Charleroi to Lille following a successful 2018–19 season in which he made 36 appearances across all competitions and registered 20 goals and four assists.
After the Nigerian striker’s impressive showing in Belgium, Lille made him an offer of €22 million to lure him to France, where he instantly rose to fame.
In an interview with France Football, the 24-year-old Osimhen reflected on his 2019 transfer to Lille, where he played for only one season before he made his biggest career move to Napoli.
When asked about his fondest moment in his football career, Osimhen said, “Ah, joining Lille… It was yet another step up. Christophe Galtier was the coach.
“On day one, he asked me how many goals I was going to score on my debut. I told him I was going to score two.
“He said to me, “Ah yes, you’re not kidding around!” Then the first week went well, in the superb facilities at Luchin, with that French gang (Jonathan) Ikoné, (Jonathan) Bamba, (Mike) Maignan. They created such a fantastic atmosphere, my God! (Laughs.)
“I felt like I had belonged to this team for weeks. As I got out of the bus ahead of the first game, (José) Fonte said to me, “If you score two goals, I’ll take you to a restaurant.”
“I replied, “OK, captain!” He gave me an assist on the first goal, Nantes equalized, then I scored the winning goal in the 80th minute. It was such an adrenaline rush… I had never felt that in a big stadium before. And then, match after match, everything fell into.”
Osimhen is presently having one of his best seasons with Napoli. With 21 goals, he now leads the Italian Serie A scoring chart by seven goals over Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez, who is in second position with 14 goals.
After 29 games, Napoli are in first place in the Italian league, 16 points clear of Lazio in second. All things being equal, the team would win the league title for the first time in more than 30 years, thanks to the enormous contribution of Osimhen so far this season.
