By Ebenezer Bajela
Former Napoli defender Faouzi Ghoulam has praised Victor Osimhen following the striker’s impressive display for Napoli in the Italian topflight this season.
The former Algeria international, in an interview with DAZN, made some interesting remarks about the Nigerian’s status in Europe, while describing him as a modern striker.
Despite being convinced of Osimhen’s qualities as an elite forward, Ghoulam believes the 23-year-old forward is not yet at the level of Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema and Manchester City’s Erling Haaland.
Speaking to DAZN during the broadcast ‘Tutti Bravi dal Sofa’ (as per Tutto Napoli), when asked how far the Napoli striker had improved, Ghoulam said, “He has always been like this.
“The only thing is that he always had bad injuries and last year (Dres) Mertens had to play in his place without having done any preparation due to shoulder surgery. We were a bit unlucky in this, however, Osimhen is a modern striker.
“He attacks depth very well, has a strong header, holds the ball well. He lacks a bit of coolness, he’s still a bit too instinctive.”
On where he would rank the Nigerian alongside the best strikers in Europe, the Algerian added, “It depends. Today, the best striker is (Karim) Benzema, but then there’s (Erling) Haaland, who is scoring a lot of goals. He’s a phenomenon in the penalty area.”
The Nigerian has been unstoppable in front of goal for Napoli since the beginning of last year.
He finished the 2021/22 season with 18 goals and five assists in 32 games, including 14 in 27 league games.
The Nigeria international has continued in the same vein this season with 19 league goals in 22 games and two goals in four Champions League matches.
Source: The Punch
