Lille Metropole of France striker, Victor Osimhen is still basking in the delight of his first goal of 2020, but that has not stopped him from coming out with a down-to-earth confession that the warm reception he received on arrival at the French Ligue 1 club helped him settle down pretty fast with the team, megasportsarena.com reports.
Osimhen hit home his first goal of the new year in a 2-0 win over Amiens at Stade Pierre-Mauroy on Wednesday, taking Lille into the semi-finals of the French League Cup, in which he opened his goal account for 2020 with a 58th-minute strike that followed Luiz Araujo opening strike for his side, which came eight minutes earlier in the game.
Wednesday’s strike increased Osimhen’s tally to 14 goals in 25 games across all competitions for The Great Danes since his arrival in July and, while he will be aiming to continue his fine goals scoring run when Lille visit Dijon for their next Ligue 1 game on Sunday, he has cast a look back at how he was able to settle down pretty fast in less than a season with the team.
The 21-year-old ex-VfL Wolfsburg of Germany and Sporting Charleroi of Belgium striker has hit off a rich vein of scoring form with the former French champions, to the extent that top clubs across Europe are gunning for his signature in the January transfer window, but he says his zeal and loyalty remains with the coach and officials who took him with friendly hands at Lille.
He added that life in the city and Lille’s amiable array of fans have also made him feel very much at home, within such a short time of his arrival from Belgium last summer, such that his passion for doing better with the team in the second half of the season is burning higher than ever.
The Chile 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup gold medalist and highest goals scorer admitted he has is glad to be the fans’ favourite, as it gives him more confidence to give his best during matches, while also adding that the love with which they are all treating him in the club makes him look forward to doing even better in the second stanza of the season.
“When I got to the club, the love was really massive – from the fans, the backroom staff and also my new teammates. To be honest, I did not expect much at that short period but they were very welcoming and the coach wanted me to play immediately and that was when I knew I was really wanted at the club,” Osimhen concluded.
