Born in Nigeria, Osimhen began his senior career in Germany atVfL Wolfsburg in 2017.[7] Following a season and a half at the club, he moved to Belgian sideCharleroi on loan in 2018–19, before moving toLigue 1 withLille, scoring eighteen goals in his sole season with the French club.
Osimhen was born on 29 December 1998 inLagos, Nigeria, the youngest of six siblings. His father Patrick was from Esan inEdo State while his mother Christiana was from Amai, Ukwuani area in Delta State.[15] He grew up in the Olusosun area in Oregun/Ojota of Lagos State. Growing up, his footballing idol wasDidier Drogba.[16]
Osimhen started his career at the Ultimate Strikers Academy, based inLagos, Nigeria. In January 2016, after being noticed for his performances at the2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup, Osimhen committed to a pre-contract withVfL Wolfsburg, stipulating that he would officially join the club in January 2017.[17][18][19][20]
On 5 January 2017, Osimhen officially signed a three-and-a-half-year deal with the club, lasting until June 2020.[21][22] Out with an injury upon his arrival,[23] he made hisBundesliga debut for Wolfsburg on 13 May, coming on as a substitute in the 59th minute in a 1–1 draw againstBorussia Mönchengladbach.[24] Osimhen also came on the following week in a pivotal relegation tie againstHamburger SV, on what was the final match day of the2016–17 season. He replaced defenderSebastian Jung with the score tied 1–1, and Hamburg scored a late winner to pass Wolfsburg in the table, sending Wolfsburg to arelegation playoff withEintracht Braunschweig. Osimhen was in the squad for both matches, receiving a cameo at the end of the second leg with Wolfsburg's participation in the next Bundesliga confirmed, as they won 2–0 on aggregate.
Osimhen was named in 12 of the 17 matchday squads in the first half of the2017–18 season, appearing in 5 games. He earned his fullBundesliga debut on 28 January 2018 againstHannover, playing the full 90 minutes in their 1–0 win.[25] Osimhen made two more starts for the rest of the campaign, playing the full match againstWerder Bremen on 11 February and being replaced at the half byDaniel Didavi againstHertha Berlin on 31 March. Wolfsburg were again in therelegation playoff, but Osimhen missed out through injury. He also appeared in one game of Wolfsburg'sDFB Pokal campaign, replacing midfielderJosuha Guilavogui for the last ten minutes of their 1–0 defeat toSchalke in the quarter-final. Osimhen underwent shoulder surgery on 2 May, ending his season with 12 appearances in the Bundesliga to his name.[26]
Osimhen had summer trials with Belgian clubsZulte Waregem andClub Brugge, who were the reigning champions. However, a summer bout withmalaria had affected his physical condition, and neither club decided to take him on loan.[27]On 22 August 2018, Osimhen joined Belgian clubCharleroi on a season-long loan deal, having failed to score in any of his 16 appearances with Wolfsburg.[28] He replaced the departedKaveh Rezaei, who was sold to Club Brugge after scoring 3 goals in the first three games of the season.[29] Osimhen made his debut on 1 September againstExcel Mouscron, entering as a late substitute forJérémy Perbet. Osimhen made his full debut on 22 September, scoring his first goal as a professional with abackheel againstWaasland-Beveren.[30] Waasland-Beveren would equalise against 10-man Charleroi, and Perbet would later get sent off in the game as well, aiding managerFelice Mazzu's selection up top. Osimhen would start withAdama Niane for the next four games, scoring the club's only goal in losses toCercle Brugge andGent. He also scored twice in the last five minutes in a 3–2 win over Zulte Waregem on 21 October, afterHamdi Harbaoui had given Waregem a 2–1 lead with a second-half brace.[31] Osimhen was not dropped from the side until 25 November, when he scored a goal off the bench in the club's 4–2 win overLokeren. After the game, Osimhen toldBBC Sport that he had "found his happiness again".[32] Osimhen finished the first half with 8 goals in 16 games, second only toCristian Benavente in the team.
After a successful spell with the Belgian side, playing 36 games and scoring 20 goals, Charleroi activated their option to acquire Osimhen following his satisfactory performances while on loan.[33]
Despite being a reported target of several European clubs, FrenchLigue 1 clubLille confirmed the transfer of Osimhen on 1 August 2019, signing a five-year contract.[34] The transfer fee was reported to be priced at €12 million plus another €3 million in various bonuses and add-ons.[35][36] Upon his arrival, he told the club's official website: "Lille is a very good club which has a quality project and high-class players, and especially these last years. Great Nigerian players (Peter Odemwingie andVincent Enyeama) have also played here."[37][38] Osimhen was given the number 7, which was previously worn byRafael Leão.[39]
Ten days after the move, he made his Ligue 1 debut for the club on 11 August, scoring a brace in a 2–1 win againstNantes.[40] Two weeks later, he scored another brace in a 3–0 home win againstSaint-Étienne for his third game in France, his performance earning him a rating of 8/10 in French sports newspaperL'Équipe.[41]
Osimhen was named theLigue 1 Player of the Month for September 2019, having scored two goals and assisted two more in Lille's five league matches.[42] He then scored his first goal in theUEFA Champions League on 2 October 2019, coming in a 1–2 home defeat toEnglish sideChelsea.[43] In March, a report published by theleague showed that Osimhen was the player who has most broken the 35 km/h (21.75 mph) barrier with seven sprints above this speed, ahead ofKylian Mbappé.[44] The Nigerian finished the season as Lille's top scorer, with 13 goals in 25 domestic championship matches, and 18 goals across all competitions.[45]
His good season and strong goalscoring performances earned him the2020 Prix Marc-Vivien Foé, a prize awarded to the best African player in the French championship,[46] and saw Osimhen tipped by many to be in running for theAfrican Footballer of the Year award in the near future.[47] On 2 June 2020, he was awarded Lille's Player of the Season, having secured the highest number of votes from fans.[48]
On 31 July 2020,Serie A clubNapoli announced the signing of Osimhen,[49] for a club-record fee of €70 million potentially rising to €80 million with add-ons, making him the most expensive African transfer to date.[50] On 17 October, Osimhen scored his first goal for Napoli in a 4–1 win againstAtalanta. Upon scoring, he held up a shirt calling for theending of the ongoing police brutality in his home country of Nigeria.[51]
On 13 November, during anAfrica Cup of Nations qualifying game played whilst on international break with Nigeria, Osimhen was stretchered off injured.[52] This was then diagnosed as a shoulder injury that would keep Osimhen away from the playing field for two months. While recovering from the injury, Osimhen was authorised by his club to spend time in his home country, where he got a chance to celebrate his birthday. It was during these birthday celebrations that it is believed Osimhen contracted theCOVID-19 virus, as he tested positive upon returning to Naples.[53] This positive test, together with his shoulder injury, kept Osimhen away from action until his return to the side on 29 January 2021, when he was subbed on for around twenty minutes of Napoli'sCoppa Italia win againstSpezia.[54]
On 16 September 2021, Osimhen scored a brace in a 2–2 away draw againstLeicester City in theEuropa League group stage.[55] In November 2021, Osimhen suffered a horrific head injury and a fractured skull and eye socket in Napoli's 3–2 loss toInter Milan atSan Siro.[56] He underwent immediate surgery and was forced to miss theAfrica Cup of Nations in Cameroon.[57] He has been wearing a protective mask since due to risks posed by playing without it and he stated in an interview that he would play in it for the rest of his career, and by the end of the season, he scored 14 goals in Serie A and 18 in all competitions.[58][59]
2022–23: Breakthrough, Capocannoniere and Serie A title
On 12 October 2022, Osimhen scored his firstChampions League goal with Napoli in a 4–2 win overAjax, which secured their qualification to the knockout phase.[60] On 29 October, he scored his first Serie Ahat-trick in a 4–0 win overSassuolo.[61] On 11 November, he scored a goal and assisted another to help Napoli win 2–1 at Atalanta, becoming Nigeria's highest goal scorer in the Italian Serie A with 32 goals, and surpassingSimy's record of 31.[62]
On 13 January 2023, Osimhen scored two and assisted another as Napoli beatJuventus 5–1.[63] On 17 February 2023, he scored his 100th career goal to help Napoli win 2–0 at Sassuolo.[64] He also became the first ever player in the history of Napoli in the three-point era to score in seven league games in a row.[65] In the Champions League round of 16, Osimhen scored three goals over two legs for Napoli againstEintracht Frankfurt, which ended in a 5–0 win on aggregate and a first-time qualification to the quarter-finals.[66]
On 4 May, he scored the equaliser in a 1–1 draw withUdinese, confirming Napoli as Serie A champions for the first time in 33 years.[67] His goal made him the joint-highest goalscoring African in theSerie A alongsideGeorge Weah and the African player with the most goals in a single Italian championship season, breakingSamuel Eto'o's record in the process.[8] Three days later, he scored the winning goal from a penalty in a 1–0 victory overFiorentina, to become the highest scoring African player in Serie A with 47 goals, overtaking Weah's record.[68][69] He finished the season as top scorer with 26 goals, to be the first African to achieve this feat.[70]
On 19 August, Osimhen opened the regular season with Napoli by scoring a brace against newly promotedFrosinone in a 3–1 victory.[71] A hamstring injury during Nigeria's 2–2 friendly draw toSaudi Arabia on 16 October 2023 caused him to miss four regular season games and two Champions League group stage matches.[72] He returned on 25 November 2023 and assistedEljif Elmas' winning goal in a 2–1 victory over Atalanta.[73] Osimhen scored his first goal of the2023–24 Champions League campaign in the final group stage match in a 2–0 victory overBraga on 12 December 2023, securing Napoli's progression to the knockout stages over the Portuguese side.[74]
On 23 December, Osimhen extended his contract with Napoli until 2026, with a new release clause set at €130 million.[75] Later the same day, Osimhen was sent off with a second yellow card againstRoma with the score at 1–0 in Roma's favor, and Napoli would go on to lose 2–0 following a goal byRomelu Lukaku. This meant that he would not be able to play in the last game of the season before his international call-up for the2023 Africa Cup of Nations.[76] On 28 February 2024, he scored a hat-trick in a 6–1 away win overSassuolo, thus becoming the third player to score at least ten goals in Serie A in four consecutive seasons at Napoli, followingDiego Maradona andAttila Sallustro.[77]
Over the course of thesummer transfer window, there was much speculation that Osimhen would leave Napoli withAl-Ahli,Chelsea, andParis Saint-Germain all heavily linked with the player.[78] On 30 August 2024, it was reported that Osimhen had agreed a deal withSaudi Pro League side Al-Ahli but the deal fell through after Napoli changed their asking price for his permanent transfer away.[79] Instead, Al-Ahli signedBrentford strikerIvan Toney.[80] The same day, a proposed move to Chelsea also fell through as the player was not able to agree to a deal with thePremier League side.[81] On 31 August, Osimhen was excluded from Napoli's Serie A squad for the season and stripped of his number, with the shirt being handed to new signingRomelu Lukaku instead.[82]
On 3 September, TurkishSüper Lig clubGalatasaray opened talks to take Osimhen on loan until the end of the 2024–25 season.[83] The next day, Galatasaray announced the completion of their loan signing of Osimhen.[84][85] On 28 September, Osimhen scored his first goals for the club when he netted a brace in the first half of a 3–3 draw withKasımpaşa. At the end of the first half, Osimhen suffered an injury and was replaced by former Napoli teammateDries Mertens.[86] Osimhen scored his first goals in Europe for Galatasaray following his transfer from Napoli, scoring a first half brace within eight minutes as they beatTottenham Hotspur 3–2 in the league phase of theEuropa League.[87]
On 14 March 2025, Osimhen scored his firsthat-trick with Galatasaray in a 4–0 victory overAntalyaspor.[88] On 14 May, Osimhen scored a brace, in a player of the match performance, helping his club beat Trabzonspor 3–0 in theTurkish Cup final. With his two goals in the final, Osimhen reached 35 goals in 39 official matches, setting a new record for most goals scored in a single season by a foreign player inTurkey. He surpassed former Galatasaray strikerMario Jardel’s long-standing record of 34 goals.[89] On 18 May, Osimhen scored the opening goal in a 3–0 win againstKayserispor as Galatasaray won the Süper Lig title. With 26 goals scored, he finished the season as the league top scorer, helping the club securing thedomestic double.[90]
On 17 June 2025, Osimhen'sbicycle kick goal in Galatasaray's 3–0 win againstAntalyaspor was voted the Süper Lig goal of the season. He came off the bench in the 78th minute to score the goal in the 94th minute, after having a goal disallowed in the 80th minute of the match.[91]
In the statement made by the Galatasaray team on 30 July 2025, it was learned that Osimhen, with whom an agreement was reached, would come toIstanbul to sign an official contract.[92][93] He signed a 4-year contract with Galatasaray on July 31,[94][95] with a net transfer fee of €75 million to be paid to his former club Napoli.[96] This made Osimhen the player with the highest transfer fee in Turkish football history.[97]
"I absolutely love this club and I’m ready to go through everything with them"
On 5 November, Osimhen became the first foreigner, and the second overall Galatasaray player (afterBurak Yılmaz)[99] to score a hat-trick in theChampions League after netting three goals againstAjax in a 3–0 away victory,[100] allowing him to overtakeObafemi Martins as Nigeria's all-time top scorer in European competitions and also making him the second Nigerian player (afterYakubu) to have scored a hat-trick in the Champions League.[101]
Osimhen was a member of theNigeria under-17 team that won the2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile.[102] He scored 10 goals in seven games at the tournament and won the Golden Boot and Silver Ball awards.[103] His performances also earned him theCAF Youth Player of the Year award in 2015.[104]
Osimhen made his official senior debut forNigeria in a 2–0 defeat againstSouth Africa on 10 June 2017.[105] He missed out on Nigeria's2018 FIFA World Cup campaign after his inconsistent season at Wolfsburg.[30] Following a successful start to his loan spell at Charleroi, he was recalled byGernot Rohr for the November 2018 international break,[106] starting their friendly win overUganda.[32]
In March 2019, Osimhen was released from the Super Eagles squad to represent theNigerian U23 side as they were two goals down against their Libyan opponent. He scored three goals in the return match against Libya inAsaba.[107]
Osimhen was listed in coach Gernot Rohr's 25-man provisional list for the2019 Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Egypt[108] and was further listed in the final list for the tournament.[109][110] In the match for third place, he replaced the injuredOdion Ighalo at half-time in the team's 1–0 victory overTunisia.[111] He played a total of 45 mins at the tournament.[112]
The Super Eagles ended the2021 AFCON qualifiers on a high, beatingLesotho 3–0.[113] However, Osimhen missed the2021 Africa Cup of Nations supposedly due to COVID-19 as claimed by his club. This claim provoked a response from a sport lawyer in Nigeria who wrote to express his dismay to the alleged intention of Osimhen's club side,Napoli, to deprive Nigeria the services of their star striker.[114] The Napoli owner,Aurelio De Laurentiis, angered many Africans, when he said he would no longer sign African players unless they agreed to sign a waiver to not participate in the AFCON.[115]
Osimhen started the qualification for the2023 AFCON qualifiers in sparkling form helping Nigeria win both of their first two matches. Osimhen netted a goal againstSierra Leone and another four goals in a 10–0 win againstSão Tomé and Príncipe. Osimhen's super hat-trick, was his first senior international hat-trick for the Super Eagles.[116] In the reverse fixture played at theGodswill Akpabio International Stadium,Uyo on 10 September 2023, Osimhen scored his second international hat-trick in Nigeria's 6–0 win against São Tomé and Principe, finishing the 2023 AFCON qualifiers as top scorer with 10 goals.[117][118]
On 14 October 2025, Osimhen once again showcased his goal-scoring prowess by netting a hat-trick againstBenin in Nigeria’s 4–0 victory,[122] which sealed the Super Eagles’ place in theFIFA World Cup qualifiers playoffs.[123]
On 13 November 2025, Osimhen once again proved decisive in front of goal, scoring twice in the first World Cup qualifying playoff match againstGabon. His brace played a key role in securing an important victory that kept the Super Eagles’ World Cup aspirations alive as they continued their push through the qualification campaign.[124]
Osimhen is a right-footed centre-forward known for his physical presence, athleticism, strength, directness, runs into space, eye for goal and linkup play.[125][126] Osimhen's strongest attributes are his explosive pace and strong aerial ability. Standing at 185 cm tall, Osimhen's wide frame and ability to hold up the ball make him an effective target man, capable of bringing others into play and contributing to the build-up of attacking moves. He is also known for his close control inside the box. Often he has been criticized for his lack of dribbling bravado but his combination of both positional and link up play more than make up for it thereby giving him better movement off the ball. Consequently, this adds efficiency to his game.[127] His composure in front of goal and ability to convert chances from various positions make him a valuable asset for his teams. Osimhen's stamina, work rate and willingness to press opponents make him an active contributor to his team's defensive efforts.[128]
Osimhen's style of play has been compared to fellow strikersKylian Mbappe andErling Haaland.Opta Analyst wrote: "Among that early-prime age group, Victor Osimhen was arguably near the top".[129] His manager atNapoli,Luciano Spalletti, described him as "such a great striker"[125] and "the complete package".[130] In December 2022,Francesco Totti called him "the best striker in Serie A".[131] In January 2023,Romelu Lukaku described him as "the best striker".[132] Fellow Nigerian forwardOdion Ighalo hailed him as "the future of Nigerian football".[130] After Osimhen scored inNapoli's 2–1 win overRoma in January 2023, former Brazil and Napoli strikerCareca said: "In that goal, I saw something similar toPelé".[130]
In April 2025, Osimhen appeared in a television commercial forÜlker Çizi, a popular Turkish snack brand produced by Ülker. The advertisement marked his first major endorsement following his loan move to Galatasaray. The campaign, which highlighted his impact in the Turkish Süper Lig, received significant attention on social media. While the collaboration featured Osimhen prominently, it was not officially confirmed as a long-term brand ambassadorship.[134][135]
Osimhen is aChristian.[138] He has stated that he has drawn inspiration fromSadio Mané, who helps his community inSenegal, and has said he wants to help disabled people throughout Africa.[139] Osimhen announced the birth of his first child, a daughter named Haly, born in October 2022.[140]
^Osimhen also appeared in one match againstTogo in 2017, however Nigeria made nine substitutions during this match, and therefore it is not recognised as an official match by FIFA.
Scores and results list Nigeria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Osimhen goal.
List of international goals scored by Victor Osimhen
^"Et le Dogue de la saison est..." [And the Master of the season is...] (in French). Lille OSC. 2 June 2020.Archived from the original on 17 November 2022. Retrieved31 July 2020.
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Ukraine
Benin
Lesotho
Sierra Leone
Cape Verde
Central African Republic
Liberia
São Tomé and Príncipe
Equatorial Guinea
Rwanda
Zimbabwe
Gabon
