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Nigeria international Victor Osimhen recounted an important moment he shared with Jose Mourinho during Napoli’s 2-1 win over Roma in a Serie A match last season.
The 24-year-old Nigerian striker was the star of the show in the Partenopei’s Scudetto winning season, scoring 26 goals in 32 appearances to guide the club to glory, becoming a much-exalted figure in the Campania capital.
Despite attracting the attention of top clubs around Europe, Osimhen seems set to remain with Napoli for the coming season, further enamouring himself to the fans.
Speaking with Soccernet.ng, Osimhen remembered a touching moment he shared with Mourinho during the Serie A clash between Napoli and Roma in January of this year.
“After somebody stepped on my wrist and it got peeled, he (Mourinho) came to me and he said, ‘Good goal, but don’t do that. Don’t try to dive. Keep going like this; you’re on the right path.’ I told him that I don’t make simulations, I was pushed, and I showed him my hand, and he said, ‘Go on’.
“To hear this kind of compliment from Mourinho, right in the middle of the game, for me, it’s an amazing feeling. Trust me, it’s an amazing feeling.
“Coming from someone this kind of a man, the best in the world if I’m not mistaken, for me, it’s just the fuel that I really need to continue.
“I think every aspiring striker, mostly when you’re young, if you have the opportunity to play under Mourinho, I think it’s a huge honour because he has shaped a lot of world-class strikers.
“Didier Drogba played under him, and we know the kind of beast he actually turned him into. And he delivered for him. So, for me, it’s a great privilege that Mourinho spoke to me in the middle of the game and gave me this compliment. It’s a huge one for me.”
The 24-year-old Osimhen only has two years left on his contract with Napoli but a new deal is expected to be signed and announced soon according to various reports in the media, with Aurelio De Laurentiis not keen to sell his star striker this summer.