Osimhen reveals former Man Utd star also inspired him

The Nigerian international sees former Chelsea star Didier Drogba as his role model, but he also takes inspiration from a former international colleague

Super Eagles star Victor Osimhen has said that former Manchester United star and Nigerian international Odion Ighalo was one of the few players that fueled his dreams of becoming a professional footballer.

Osimhen is currently one of the exciting youngsters in football, and he has revealed that the careers of players like Odion Ighalo, John Obi Mikel and Didier Drogba inspired him to be successful.

“I wanted to become a professional player, inspired by a lot of big legends like Didier Drogba, Odion Ighalo, Mikel Obi and many others,” Osimhen told his Super Eagles teammate William Troost-Ekong on his Youtube page. 

Like Ighalo, Osimhen also had a tough upbringing and had to do all kinds of jobs just to survive. The Nigerian international, who grew up in the slums of Lagos, revealed he did a lot of cleaning jobs for his landlord and some of his neighbours as a young boy.

“When I was growing up, I was cleaning the gutters for 20 Naira, for my landlord and did some cleaning jobs for my neighbours close to my hours, fetch the water for 80 Naria, I think.”

But despite the nature of the job, Osimhen revealed he enjoyed doing the hard work as it helped him to spend money wisely.

“I found pleasure in doing these things because I believe when I worked so hard to get this money it was important for me, I had consciousness on how to spend this money and help my family.

Osimhen is currently enjoying one of the most successful seasons in his young career, and he’s grateful for how far he has come.

“I am grateful for where I am today because of what I’ve been through; it shaped me into the man I am. I am really grateful to God for that,” he added.

The 22-year-old recently scored for Nigeria in the 2-0 win over the Central African Republic in a World Cup qualifier match.

Osimhen is back in club action this weekend when Napoli take on Torino at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.