Ex Footballer Tips Super Eagles Star to Succeed Victor Osimhen As African Best

Ex Footballer Tips Super Eagles Star to Succeed Victor Osimhen As African Best

  • Napoli star Victor Osimhen is the reigning African Footballer of the Year after winning it last year
  • Osimhen scooped the coveted award after helping Napoli win their first Serie A title in 30 years
  • A former Nigerian footballer and coach has tipped Ademola Lookman to succeed his compatriot

A former Nigerian footballer has named the Super Eagles star who should succeed Victor Osimhen as the African Footballer of the Year after a fantastic season.

Osimhen won the award at an event in Marrakech, Morocco, in December after helping Napoli win their first-ever Serie A title since the Diego Maradona-inspired 1989/90 season.

Victor Osimhen dancing after winning the 2023 CAF Best Award.
Victor Osimhen dancing with the Ghetto Kids after winning the 2023 CAF Best Award. Photo by STR.
Source: Getty Images

The Napoli star is not in contention for this year's award after he had an underwhelming title defence season, with the Neapolitans finishing ninth, one of the worst by a defending champion in Italy.

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Olorunleke tips Lookman for African best

Former Nigerian footballer and Bagnolese head coach Matthew Olorunleke believes Ademola Lookman should succeed Osimhen as the African Footballer of the Year.

“Lookman is in form and on fire. He did well last season in the Serie A. He was also great at the Africa Nations Cup and he helped Atalanta win the Europa League," Olorunleke said as quoted by ANS.

Despite tipping the Atalanta star for CAF Best, he admitted that he is far from getting highly rated in the Ballon d'Or ranking, where Osimhen finished eighth last year.

“Becoming world player of the year is not just about what you do on the pitch; it also includes the image you create off it. When we talk about World Footballer of the Year, we talk about a brand. Football is now more than just playing the game,” he added.

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He contributed to 27 goals in all competitions and wrapped the season up with a hat trick in the UEFA Europa League final, and as noted by uefa.com, he was the first player to do so in the competition.

Another worthy candidate for the award is Bayer Leverkusen striker Victor Boniface who helped the club win the Bundesliga.

Atalanta furious at Lookman

Legit.ng reported that Atalanta are furious with Lookman over his desire to leave the club and join Paris Saint-Germain after the French club approached his representative two days ago.

Lookman reportedly asked to be left out of the matchday squad for the opening day 4-0 win over Lecce to think about his future, a move with which the club's hierarchy is displeased.

Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Elijah Odetokun avatar

Elijah Odetokun (Sports Editor) Elijah Odetokun is a Nigerian sports editor at Legit NG. He has four years of working experience having previously worked at Daily Times Nigeria (August 2020 - September 2020), OmaSports (December 2020 - June 2021), El Futbolero (July 2021; September 2021- November 2021), and Sports Brief (November 2022 - July 2024). He is a press conference and interview specialist and has attended trainings held by Reuters, AIPS, and FIJ. He holds a Bachelor of Agriculture (2021) from the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta. Reach me via elijah.odetokun@sportsbrief.com