Former Golden Eaglets striker Victor Osimhen has been officially presented as a member of the Wolfsburg squad and has been giving the number 18 jersey squad number.
“We have been intensively observing Victor’s development over a long period and we were able to secure the signing in spite of interest from big clubs from abroad.
Victor‘s profile totally fits into our philosophy of not only developing talented young players from within the club, but also binding foreign players to VfL in the long-term,” VfL Wolfsburg’s Sporting Director Olaf Rebbe told the club’s website on Thursday.
Osimhen’s exploits at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile, where he scored 10 goals as Nigeria claimed the title, attracted Wolfsburg.
“We pay close attention to international tournaments in all age groups. The U-17 World Cup in Chile proved particularly interesting. In Ismail Azzaoui, Josip Brekalo and now Victor Osimhen, we have three players in our squad that participated in that tournament,” Rebbe added.
Head coach Valérien Ismaël commented on the qualities Osimhen, who was twice in Wolfsburg as a guest player: “Although just 18, Victor already possesses great presence in attack. He has a good eye for goal and is fast for a lad of his height. He does need to build up a bit physically and get used to how football is played in Germany, but we intend to help him take those steps.”
The young Nigerian took questions from the journalists on Wednesday in English, but is already busily learning German. One of the words the youngster has already learned is “kämpfen” (battling), which he intends to implement on the football pitch.
“I’d like to thank the coach and the sporting director for having me here, giving me this chance and for believing in me. Wolfsburg is the right place for me to get my career started. It’s up to me to give something back now. To do that, I must work hard and learn,” Osimhen said in his first interview as a Wolfsburg player.
“My teammates are all very friendly to me and tell me lots about the club,” explained the striker, who is still being cautious following knee surgery in the autumn. “When I’m needed, I want to help the team, but I am a young player and I can wait until my time comes.”
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