Victor Osimhen’s Ligue 1 form at Lille has caught the eye of Premier League duo Liverpool and Chelsea, will Jurgen Klopp or Frank Lampard win the race?
Liverpool and Chelsea have joined the ever-growing list of clubs targeting Lille talisman Victor Osimhen, according to Sky Sports, with Ligue 1’s latest superstar already earning comparisons to Stamford Bridge legend Didier Drogba.
What is it with Lille and unearthing attacking diamonds? Eden Hazard, Divock Origi, Sofiane Boufal, Jonathan Ikone, Gervinho and Rafael Leao have all made their name at the Stade Pierre Mauroy and, as recently as last summer, Nicolas Pepe moved across the channel to Arsenal in a club-record £72 million deal.
The outstanding form of Osimhen, however, has ensured that Lille have not missed the departed talisman Pepe.
The 20-year-old has scored 12 times in all competitions with Sky Sports reporting that Liverpool and Chelsea have joined Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur in jostling for the signature of a man who moved to France from Chaleroi for a bargain £10 million over the summer.
Sky, however, claim that Lille are unlikely to cash in next month unless they receive an offer that they simply cannot refuse.
Chelsea, who are expected to lose Olivier Giroud in January, are arguably more in need of attacking reinforcements than a star-studded Liverpool side with Frank Lampard now free to spend after their FIFA-imposed transfer ban was lifted.
And, blessed with a powerful strike off both feet, a prodigious leap and the raw speed and power to terrorise defences, those comparisons with Drogba certainly make sense – though Osimhen is far further along his development than the Chelsea hero was at the same age.
“He has the same profile. He can do everything and he’s phenomenally powerful,” former Charleroi teammate Nicolas Penneteau told La Voix du Nord.
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