Lille striker Victor Osimhen has made up his mind to join the Serie A side and moved to Napoli. The forward has been linked with a number of European clubs like Liverpool and Inter following his eye-catching performances for Christophe Galtier’s men in the 2019/20 season. The Parthenopeans have, however, been leading the race to secure his signature and the striker was believed to be close to securing a move to the side last month before his agent raised the issue of racism in Italy.
The 21-year-old forward recently changed his agent which led to the delay in wrapping up his transfer to the Stadio San Paolo outfit. The striker sealed a €60 million move to the Parthenopeans which is subject to successful medical examinations, having been swayed by manager Gennaro Gattuso’s genuine interest in him.
Last summer, Lille sold Ivory Coast international Nicolas Pépé to Arsenal for £72 million, and Osimhen’s deal is another outstanding transfer for the Mastiffs. The forward joined the Stade Pierre-Mauroy outfit last summer from Belgian side Sporting Charleroi and impressed in his debut campaign with the side.
In this scout report, we take a closer look at Osimhen´s playing style. In the tactical analysis, we will also figure out how Osimhen will fit into Gattuso´s tactics at Napoli.
Role in the system at Lille
Lille preferred to start their matches in a 4-4-2 formation. Gabriel and José Fonte formed the centre-back pairing, while Domagoj Bradarić and Zeki Çelik were stationed at left and right-back respectively. In midfield from left to right were Jonathan Bamba, Renato Sanches, Benjamin André, and the dynamic Jonathan Ikoné. Finally, spearheading the attack was the striker partnership of Victor Osimhen and Loïc Rémy.
When the full-backs were in a good position near the touchline or in half-spaces, they tried to get the ball to Osimhen or Ikoné most of the time, who tried to establish possession in the final third. These two attackers are good in the air, especially Oshimen, so it is reasonable for his pattern to exist.
As you will see in this analysis, one of the biggest principles Osimhen used in his game at Lille was leaving his position as a centre-forward and drifting wide. From the heatmap below, we can see that Osimhen is very active around the final third. He does not just drop down a lot in the middle, but he is also quite active in linking up the play in the wider areas. He seems to roam wide quite often with the tendency of going to the right side of the field.
