In a top-of-the-table clash in the Italian Serie A on Friday, January 13, Napoli made their title contention extremely clear to even the most doubtful. There was a reason why the clash against Juventus was one of the most anticipated games of the 2022/2023 Serie A campaign. It featured Napoli, the league’s most prolific attack, against Juve, the league’s most composed defense. Heading into the tie, Juventus had notched eight consecutive league wins, keeping a clean sheet in all. Since the season began, their defense had conceded only seven goals in 17 Serie A rounds but none in the last eight.
However, they were pitched against Napoli’s free-scoring forwards who were scoring goals for the fun of it. Led by the unplayable Nigerian Victor Osimhen, whose razor-sharp form in front of goal was at a peak, the anticipation ahead of the game was feverish. Yet, those who still underestimated Napoli’s burning desire to end 33 whole years of waiting for another Serie A title were left astounded by the display of the side from Naples. The I Partenopei secured a domineering 5-1 victory over Juventus, with Osimhen once more leading the charge for the league leaders. Osimhen opened the scoring for Napoli, ending Juventus’ run of 770 minutes without conceding in the league. He then assisted his scoring partner Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, before scoring again in the second half, in between goals from Amir Rrahmani and Elif Elmas
Osimhen’s performance was particularly impressive. He did not just score against the stingiest backline in Italian top flight football but found a way to earn an assist as well. All of these in just the first 45 minutes of football. It was a performance that made the Nigerian only the third player to score and assist in the first half against Juventus in the past 15 seasons, after Cagliari’s Luca Gagliano and Roma’s Diego Perotti did the same in 2020. The 24-year-old has been in scintillating form since November 2022, and his dominance over Italian defenses is almost becoming as monotonous as his performances have been absolutely exhilarating.
With Inter Milan enduring a shock 1-0 home defeat by Empoli on Monday and AC Milan collapsing to a terrible 4-0 loss to Lazio, Napoli are now 12 points clear at the top of the table. It is further proof of how good the I Partenopei have been and what Osimhen’s fine form in front of goal has meant for that progress.
Yet, Osimhen is not standing alone in the goal-scoring spotlight. He is having to share that pedestal with another Nigerian, Ademola Lookman, who has taken the striking profile of Nigerian players in the top five League of Europe by storm as he makes headlines in Italy by the week. Lookman, who had previously struggled in the English Premier League with clubs such as Everton, Leicester, and Fulham, has found new life at Atalanta. The winger scored twice and registered an assist in Atalanta’s 3-3 draw against Juventus, on Sunday, January 22, after Osimhen and Napoli had devastated the defenses of the Old Lady. With Lookman’s brace against Juventus, the Super Eagles’ striker took his goal tally to 11 goals for the season, behind only Osimhen in the goal-scoring charts of Italy’s top division.
Lookman’s performances have not gone unnoticed, and many are considering him to be the Serie A signing of the season so far. He is only the fourth Atalanta player in history to hit double figures in his first 19 Serie A games at the club, a record that had been held since 1953. He is proving to be influential as Atalanta chase a UEFA Champions League berth.
Lookman’s journey to success in Italy has not been easy, however. The Nigerian, who was born in Wandsworth, joined Charlton’s academy at the age of 16 after starting out at Waterloo. He was promoted to the Addicks’ first team in 2015 and amassed a total of 12 goals in 49 appearances. In 2017, he made a big leap to Everton but struggled with only four goals in 48 matches. This led to a loan stint at RB Leipzig in 2018, where his impressive performances convinced the Bundesliga giants to sign him on a permanent deal a year later. But, soon after, he was sent back on loan in the Premier League with hapless stints at Fulham and Leicester in 2020 and 2021 respectively. Lookman only managed four goals at Craven Cottage and eight at the King Power Stadium for Leicester. That led to Leipzig selling him to Atalanta in the summer and he has since been firing on all cylinders.
With Osimhen and Lookman leading the charge, Nigerian football looks to be in good hands in Italy. They are continuing the fine tradition of their predecessors such as Kanu Nwankwo, Sunday Oliseh, Taye Taiwo, Taribo West, Obafemi Martins, Victor Moses and Odion Ighalo, all of whom made exploits in the Serie A. However, these two young stars are proving to be some of the best players in the Italian top flight and staking a veritable claim for the Best Player honours at this half point of the season.
There is enough rationale to believe they will keep up their performances baring injuries in the next half of the campaign. Osimhen has finally had a stretch of games at Napoli without serious injury and he is showing in every match why he is the best striker in the league. Against local rivals Salernitana, in the match after the Juventus massacre, he scored once again in Napoli’s 2-0 victory. That now makes it 13 goals in 15 league appearances to go with three assists. His goals have come from all sorts of angles too – from bullet headers to world class volleys, low driven finishes while running at full pace and curling finesse shots into the top corner. That is why the Nigerian striker has been deemed unplayable because there really is no such thing as a bulletproof way to defend him.
He is lightning quick and devastating on the counter, so it is a massive risk to play a high defensive line against Napoli. Most teams drop deep into a low block to limit the spaces in the final third against the Neapolitan possession game (currently the best in the league at over 60%), which allows Osimhen to show off his aerial ability. His leaping and timing on headers, combined with general accuracy, mean that he is a danger any time crosses are flung in from either flank into the opponents’ danger areas. The only thing that has stopped him from topping the “Capocannoniere” (the highest goal-scorer) charts in the past have been injuries. A fit-and-ready-to-strike Osimhen has proven to be a world class player.
Osimhen’s journey to the top of the scoring charts in Serie A has been a long and winding one. The Nigerian international joined Napoli from Lille in the summer of 2020 for a reported fee of €70 million. At the time, many saw the move as a bit of a gamble for the Neapolitans, as Osimhen was coming off a relatively modest season in Ligue 1. However, the young striker quickly proved his worth, scoring 18 goals in his first season in Italy. However, an injury-plagued 2021 saw Osimhen limited to just 13 appearances, and he managed only six goals during that time. But this season, he is back to his best and his performances have been nothing short of spectacular.
On the other hand, Ademola Lookman’s production for Atalanta has been one of the biggest revelations of the season. The Atalanta winger has been in searing form, including 11 goals in his last 13 appearances in Serie A. There are some who could have probably predicted this sort of form once upon a time. After all, he has been able to garner some high profile transfers in the past – an €11.8m transfer from Charlton to Everton when he was a teenager, and then more recently that €18m sale that sent him from Everton to German club RB Leipzig. However, the London-born Lookman has never scored more than six goals in an entire season. As it stands at the halfway point of the season, he is on pace to potentially score 22 with Atalanta.
Fans of Atalanta will agree that since Gianpiero Gasperini took over six years ago, the Italian manager has developed a knack for being able to get the best out of enigmatic attacking players. The best example is perhaps Luis Muriel – a very talented but inconsistent striker who had issues keeping his weight down in the past. Under Gasperini, Muriel had a season where he was right alongside Robert Lewandowski in terms of goals-per-minute. This same trajectory is alongside Lookman’s transformation. The Nigerian’s impressive performance has not gone unnoticed and it has been reported that Juventus are already looking to sign the deadly attacker who has been dubbed defender’s nightmare in the Scudetto. Lookman has quickly established himself as one of the most exciting young talents in Italy and his performances have attracted the attention of some of other top clubs in Europe.
Further evidence of how scintillating a display this pair of Nigerian strikers have consistently delivered is seen in the nomination of both Osimhen and Lookman for the Serie A player of the month award category for January. The award, which is given to the best player in the league for the previous month, is a testament to the impact both players have had on the league this season. The final winner will be announced at the end of the month but regardless of the outcome, it is clear that both players are among the best in the league.
The race for the Golden Boot, given to the top goal scorer in the league, is heating up as the season progresses into the second half. With Osimhen and Lookman leading the way, it is shaping up to be an exciting battle between two of the best young forwards in the league. Osimhen’s 13 goals gives him the slight edge over Lookman, who is hot on his heels with 11 goals. Both players have a chance to make history as no African player has finished top scorer in the 125-year history of the Italian topflight. As the second half of the season begins, all eyes will be on the two Nigerians as they look to continue their impressive form and lead their teams to success. With the league title and the Golden Boot on the line, it is sure to be an exciting and dramatic finish to the season especially Napoli who have waited 33 years for a league title.
As the league continues to evolve and new talents emerge, it will be interesting to see how these two players continue to develop and impact the game. Osimhen’s displays have evoked a constant debate online that Manchester United, currently in need of a clinical striker to complete Erik ten Hag project of revamping the fortunes of the Red Devils, should bring him to Old Trafford. That possibility remains while the striker attempts to rewrite the books for Napoli. To keep him in Naples, the I Partenopei have slapped no less than €100m price tag on the Nigerian.
However, both Osimhen and Lookman have shown that they are among the best young players in the world and their performances this season have only solidified their place among the elite. With the rest of the season still to play, there is no telling how far they can go and what records they can break. It is a privilege to watch these two players in action and the future of football looks bright with talents like Osimhen and Lookman leading the way. It is hopeful that they will translate this form into the performances for the Super Eagles.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
