Oluwamayomikun Orekoya
Lille SC top scorer Victor Osimhen will not be sold next summer as club owner Gérard Lopez would like to keep the striker for another year.
There have been speculation over the future of the gangly Nigerian international, who has been in impressive form for his French club.
The 20-year-old who joined Lille from Charleroi in July has been in great scoring form and only last Friday grabbed his ninth goal in 16 French Ligue 1 matches to command huge interest from several top European sides Europe including Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham Hotspurs in the English Premier League.
With 11 goals in 21 games in all competitions since the beginning of the season, his performances have also attracted the big names of the five majors in Europe including Bayern Munich and AC Milan
Asked about the future of Osimhen, Lopez said he does not intend to let the in-form striker, currently valued at 13 million Euros (13.00m Euros), leave after a single season.
“There will be sales and investment next summer like this year. But there will always be a basic expectation from us. The goal would be to keep Victor Osimhen for another year,” Lopez said in an interview with AFP.
Meanwhile, Osimhen would hope to add to his nine goals in Ligue 1 when Montpellier visits the Stade Pierre-Mauroy tonight.
Osimhen is expected to return to the Les Dogues starting lineup after he was an unused substitute in Lille’s final group H away loss to Chelsea in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Read Also: Transfer window: Lille fret over Osimhen
Lille are third in the Ligue 1 table with 28 points and the club recently secured a back-to-back win especially on the back of the club’s hard-fought 1-0 win against Brest courtesy of Osimhen’s goal.
Osimhen emergence as an upstart was swift following his breakthrough with the Golden Eaglets under Amuneke in 2015 when he broke the long-held FIFA U-17 World Cup goal-scoring record as he scored 10 goals at Chile 2015 to help Nigeria win the historic fifth global cadet title.
He was personally rewarded with the Golden Boot award as the top scorer of the World Cup as well as Silver Ball as the second Most Valuable Player behind compatriot and captain of the side, Kelechi Nwakali. For his efforts in 2015, he was rewarded with the Africa Young Player of the Year in the annual poll by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
He is also in the running for 2019 CAF Young Player of the Year Award with fellow Eagles forward, Samuel Chukwueze, who plays for Villareal of Spain.
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