The possibility of a summer transfer deal for Lille Metropole of France striker, Victor Osimhen is starring the club’s gaffer, Christophe Galtier glaringly in the eye, as he admits the youngster could be on his way out of LOSC before the expiration of his contract, megasportsarena.com gathered.
Although Osimhen joined the club only this past summer and is yet to complete a single season with them in Ligue 1, Galtier admitted that the lad’s scoring form has attracted interest in him from far and wide, but the coach insisted the fast-rising striker will remain at Lille beyond the upcoming January transfer window.
Since his arrival at Lille in July, Osimhen has established himself as one of the highest-scoring players in Ligue 1 this season, with nine goals and three assists from 16 games, such that the 20-year-old former VfL Wolfsburg of Germany and Sporting Charleroi of Belgium lad has attracted transfer interest from Barcelona of Spain and Tottenham Hotspur of England.
Interest from Spurs looks palpable, following the departure of two assistant coaches from Lille to join Jose Mourinho’s crew at the North London, while Barcelona are also said to have cited him as a possible replacement for Luis Suarez.
Consequently, The Catalans have been monitoring Osimhen’s performances in France, where he has proved that his form last season for Charleroi was not a flash in the pan, with 11 goals in 21 games across all competitions.
Osimhen also headed into Tuesday night’s UEFA Champions League final group fixture away to Chelsea with two goals to his name, looking good to make personal marks, in spite of his club’s disappointing run in Group H, where the Ligue 1 outfit were at the bottom with just a point.
On the international level, the Ultimate Strikers Football Academy of Ojota product has also established himself as one of Nigeria’s most lethal lads of the moment, with four goals in his last four appearances for the Super Eagles and was recently nominated for the continent’s youth player of the year award by Confederation of African Football (CAF).
All these have shot up Osimhen’s rating and value within a short time but, while admitting that Lille will not be able to hold onto the youngster for the long term, Galtier said he hopes the lad will be able to stay till end of the current season.
Galtier told BeIN Sports: “Osimhen will stay at LOSC until the end of the season? I think so, but in football, nothing is certain, nothing is safe. I can confirm this with regard to the weeks that have just passed.”
