Crotone of Italy striker, Simeon Tochukwu Nwankwo (Simy) has equaled a long-standing goals scoring record jointly-held by Liberian soccer legend, George Weah and Senegal’s Keita Balde in the Italian Serie A, megasportsarena.com reports.
This feat came last weekend, when ‘Simy’ struck for the fifth straight game and, though his brace of goals against Victor Osimhen’s SSC Napoli could not lead Crotone to victory, the giant striker crested his name in history.
Statistics released by Sky Sport Italia have now confirmed that ‘Simy’ became the third African player in Serie A history to score for five straight games – after Weah for after Milan in September 1996 and Balde in May 2017.
‘Simy,’ who has 15 goals from 29 league matches, first got on the scoresheet against Atalanta, then got braces against Torino and Lazio, scored one versus Bologna, after which he netted twice again in Saturday’s 4-3 loss to Napoli.
The report out of Italy also revealed that ‘Simy’ is the first player since Paulo Dybala in 2014/15, when the Argentine ace was still at UDS Palermo, to score in five straight games whilst playing for a newly promoted team.
The former Portugal-based tall striker’s right-footed shot in the 25th minute at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Saturday afternoon meant he has scored in five consecutive games of the Italian top-flight, thereby sealing his remarkable mark of eight goals in five matches.
Simy has been at Crotone for five years after joining from Gil Vicente of Portugal and he is officially credited with 61 goals and 11 assists in 150 matches for the Serie A strugglers.
Although he has a contract with the Rossoblù until the end of the 2021/22 season, his 15 goals in 29 appearances have set him up for speculations heading into the summer transfer window.
A report by Italian publication, La Gazzetta dello Sport revealed that Simy’s displays have earned him interest from Genoa, while clubs in France and Belgium are also interested in acquiring his services in the next transfer window.
Only three players – Juventus’ Cristiano Ronaldo (24), Inter Milan’s Romelu Lukaku (20) and Atalanta’s Luis Muriel (18) – have scored more than Simy this season, thereby leaving Simy beaming with delight and self-satisfaction.
The striker’s appearance against Napoli last Saturday took him to 150 appearances in all competitions with Crotone and he admitted how proud he is reaching that milestone, five years after his arrival from Gil Vicente of Portugal.
Simy, who has 73 appearances in the Serie A, 70 in the Serie B and seven in Coppa Italia, with 61 goals across five seasons, told Crotone’s official website: “I don’t like to talk on a personal level (but) 150 games wearing this shirt are a source of pride for me.
“I am very proud of what I have done in these 5 years, since the first day I arrived I have felt the affection and love of everyone.
“Scoring 3 goals at Napoli is a lot of stuff but in the end it didn’t help because it was important to score points . We have to raise our heads and keep pedaling.”
