Osimhen chasing Serie A record as Napoli prepare for Udinese

Victor Osimhen heads into Saturday’s Serie A clash between Napoli and Udinese with a milestone in his sights.

He was on song twice last time out as the Parthenopeans recorded a 2-1 away win at Verona - to brighten their chances of lifting the domestic diadem.

Should he find the net against the Little Zebras, he will become the first Nigerian in history to reach double figures in two different Italian elite division campaigns.

Although names like Obafemi Martins, Odion Ighalo, Obinna Nsofor, Ayo Makinwa and Nwankwo Kanu have graced Serie A at different times, none have been able to achieve this feat.

So far, the former Lille goal machine boasts of nine goals in the 2021-22 campaign, only two of them have come from home matches (Torino and Cagliari).

Following an impressive debut season in Ligue 1 - when he scored 18 goals in 38 appearances in the 2019-20 season - he moved to Naples in a deal reported to be worth €50 million (£45m/$59m).

Despite an injury-plagued first season at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, Osimhen netted 10 times in 24 Serie A matches.

Speaking in the wake of his inspiring display against Verona, manager Luciano Spalletti has stated that the striker still has a long way to go to be the finished product. 

“Osimhen still doesn’t realise the distance from his marker, sometimes he runs towards the ball and has the time and space to control, pick his spot. He doesn’t need to rush,” Spalletti told DAZN as quoted by Football Italia.

“He can start a run from midfield; take on four or five defenders by himself with that pace, so he has such potential.”

For Verona’s Igor Tudor, Osimhen is not the best striker in Serie A and instead picked Dusan Vlahovic of Juventus as the best. 

“Dusan [Vlahovic] is a champion and if a club like Juventus signed him, it means they checked carefully he has everything required to play at that level,” he told the media.

“Osimhen is a top player with everything on his side. He’s young, he’s a good lad, he can be a bit too enthusiastic and gives his all. When we are talking about timing, movement, the dummy on a defender to change direction, these are the areas where he needs to improve.”