In Focus: Napoli's wizard of Os is outscoring Europe's deadliest strikers

Serie A leaders Napoli kick off their Champions League knockout campaign tonight with Victor Osimhen in the form of his life.

The Nigerian striker notched for the seventh consecutive league game in the Partenopei's 2-0 win at Sassuolo last Friday, his 100th career goal.

As Luciano Spalletti's men prepare for their last 16 first-leg clash at Eintracht Frankfurt, we look at how the 24-year-old forward compares to Europe’s best marksmen and assess what is next for the Super Eagles star.

Centurion

Scoring 100 career goals at just 24 is an achievement in itself, but the speed at which Osimhen has done it places him among the very best in the game.

It was a trademark way to reach the landmark too, bulldozing his way past two Sassuolo defenders before spectacularly firing in from a tight angle.

It took the striker just 197 games across spells at Wolfsburg, Charleroi, Lille, Napoli and Nigeria to achieve the feat, 13 matches faster than Argentine icon Lionel Messi.

What is more impressive is his remarkable ability to not let injuries affect his form when available. 

Napoli's No9 missed a two-month period in both 2020-21 and 2021-22 through respective shoulder and cheekbone issues but still managed 28 goals across the two seasons combined, while he has also netted 15 times in only 23 international caps.

Golden shoe race

It is scary to think there could be more to come for the Super Eagles hitman, with 2022-23 already his best goalscoring season to date having largely stayed injury free for most of the campaign.

The physical talisman has bagged a sensational 18 times in only 19 Serie A games, as well as a further effort in the Champions League, as Napoli have raced 15 points clear at the top.

Only Manchester City star Erling Haaland stands ahead of him in the race for the Golden Shoe among players from Europe’s top five leagues on 26 goals, with Harry Kane one behind Osimhen on 17 and Kylian Mbappe and Robert Lewandowski on 15.

And though Haaland’s total has seemed an unattainable tally for any striker to reach since early on in the campaign, recent form suggests Osimhen still has a faint chance of catching the Norwegian.

Since the World Cup, the Lagos native has hit nine goals in only eight league outings, compared to eight in 10 for Haaland — a rate of 1.19 per 90 minutes compared to 0.87.

While Haaland’s hit rate is still not to be sniffed at, that we are discussing Osimhen in the same bracket as the much-praised City powerhouse is enough to illustrate his extraordinary form this term.

The complete package

It is not just current strikers that Osimhen is now being compared to either, with his name being mentioned in the same breath as great goalscorers of the past.

With pace, power, aerial ability and deadly finishing in abundance, the 23-cap international has been likened to former Chelsea ace Didier Drogba by Gianfranco Zola.

The Blues legend, 56, said: "I see a lot of similarities but it’s unfair to compare players from different eras. They both play with a lot of physicality and they are both very good with scoring, taking their opportunities.

"He’s a very complete player. He’s got a good reference going forward, he can link up play and he’s devastating in the air. He’s a pest to defenders."

Bidding war

Napoli’s first Serie A title in 33 years looks to be all but secure, with Osimhen’s goals helping them establish a seemingly unassailable gap to the chasing pack.

But despite that, their star striker has left the door open to depart the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in the summer.

Osimhen told ESPN: "When you are doing so well, top clubs around the world are watching, mostly in the top five leagues. 

"And to be able to attract interest from these top clubs shows that I am doing great and it gives me the motivation to do even more for myself and my team. 

"But I am focused on Napoli right now and they have the final say. I just want to help my team to win matches and win trophies. 

"At the end of the season, we will see what is going to happen, but that is not up to me. It is for the club to decide."

Manchester United are the Premier League club most strongly linked, with free-spending Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain also credited with an interest.

A whopping reported fee of £96million is bound to be a sticking point, along with a contract running until 2025, but given Osimhen's phenomenal output, there is every reason to suggest it would be money well spent.