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By Johnny Edward.
Former Super Eagles coach, Gernot Rohr, has stated clearly that Napoli striker, Victor Osimhen, is fast becoming a top and efficient professional in Italy and isn’t a diver, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Roma coach Jose Mourinho had likened Osimhen to Didier Drogba but added that the Nigerian striker must stop diving.
The former Tottenham Hotspur coach made this known after the 23-year-old scored a great goal against Roma in Napoli’s 2-1 win last Sunday.
The strike was won the Serie A goal of the month award and also extended his tally to 14 Serie A goals this season.
The award comes a few days after Osimhen was nominated for the best player award in January. He was listed for the monthly prize alongside Ademola Lookman, Lautaro Martinez, Paulo Dybala and Luis Alberto.
But Rohr, who handed Osimhen his senior national team debut for Nigeria as an 18-year-old in 2017, believes the Napoli striker is improving in Italy following his goal-scoring heroics for the Partenopei, who are 13 points clear at the top of the Serie A.
“Victor is learning a lot in Italy, he is becoming a great professional now,” Rohr told PUNCH Sports Extra.
“Napoli is efficient with him and he’s not a diver.”
Osimhen’s stunning strike inside the penalty box was his 38th Serie A goal in 67 games since he joined Napoli in 2020 from Lille in a club-record deal.
The goal saw him become the joint top third most prolific African goal-scorer in Serie A with George Weah leading the pack with 46 goals while trio Gervinho, Mohamed Kallon and Khouma Babacar are all tied in second place with 39 goals.
Meanwhile, Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis reportedly promised Osimhen and his club teammates that they would receive extra bonus ‘gifts’ for winning the Scudetto, but also if they continued the Champions League journey.
De Laurentiis hosted the entire squad for a special dinner on Tuesday evening and La Gazzetta Dello Sport claimed he pledged to reward them with an extra bonus if they won the Scudetto.
It would not be a negotiable bonus to add to their contracts, but rather a personal promise that remains to be identified.
Similarly, the president also suggested gifts for getting past Eintracht Frankfurt in the Round of 16 and even something set aside in case Napoli managed to make history by winning the Champions League.
The Partenopei are seemingly heading towards only the third title of their history, the others achieved in the era of Diego Armando Maradona in 1986/87 and 1989/90.
There is only one piece of European silverware in their trophy cabinet: the 1988-89 UEFA Cup.