ITALIAN SERIE A
Nigeria and Napoli forward, Victor Osimhen, climbed through the perimeter fence into the crowd yesterday to apologise to a young girl who was unintentionally hitting by his shot during his warm-up in the clash with Spezia.
But when the striker tried to return to the pitch to re-join his team-mates, fans surrounded the in-form goal-scorer, desperate to take selfies with him.
Such is the popularity of the Super Eagles striker in Italy that he can hardly walk the street without Napoli fans mobbing him for autograph.
In the match proper, Osimhen picked up from where he stopped the previous weekend, scoring two of Napoli’s 3-0 defeat of Spezia to establish a 16-point lead at the top of the Italian topflight.
Footage emerged yesterday showing Osimhen climbing up the seats towards the young fan, before giving her a heartfelt hug.
As he made his way back to continue his warm-up, the Nigerian struggled to exit the crowd, with footage also showing fans holding on to the striker by the arm.
One opportunistic supporter leaned in to talk to Osimhen as he climbed over the advertising board.
Osimhen has been in exceptional goal-scoring form so far this season, netting 16 Serie A goals and one in the UEFA Champions League.
Osimhen has been heavily linked with a move to Manchester United in the summer, with Erik ten Hag’s side eager to recruit a striker following the acrimonious exit from Old Trafford last year of Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Red Devils will have to pay at least £90million if they are to sign the Napoli striker, according to reports in Italy.
Osimhen joined Napoli from Lille in 2020 for £62.4m, with him scoring 43 goals in 82 appearances across all competitions since.
His contract with Luciano Spalletti’s side is due to expire in 2025 and talks over a new deal are thought to not have taken place yet.
