July 15, (THEWILL) – The release of the schedule of match fixtures for next season in Serie A has opened the Napoli team to the possibility of missing out on the contributions of their Nigerian forward, Victor Osimhen, in a set of matches that coincide with Nigeria’s participation in the African Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Osimhen, who will be under the direction of a new manager, with the appointment of Luciano Spalletti in place of previous manager Gennaro Gattuso at the end of last season, is most certain to be away from Napoli’s second fixture against giants Juventus and likely to miss some other ties during the period.
The striker and his teammates are due to open the season with a home fixture against Tyronne Ebuehi’s Venezia in the released schedule. It will be a Sunday, August 22 tie at the Diego Armando Maradona stadium and Osimhen must be fired up to let Spalletti see his delivery in real match situations.
However, the baptism of fire for the new manager will come very early in the season. In Napoli’s third fixture and second home game, the Gli Azzurri will dive headlong into a contest against former champions Juve, who with the returned Massimiliano Allegri will be looking for an immediate boost to their title recovery race.
It will give Osimhen another opportunity to make his credentials certified as the arrowhead of the Napoli squad in terms of goals. THEWILL recalls that in their last two head-to-head games, where Napoli lost one and won the other, it was always Lorenzo Insigne providing the Napoli goals even when Osimhen was in the lineup.
It will be an opportunity for the Nigerian international not just to open his goal-scoring account against Juve but to impress himself on the mind of the manager and confirm his leading forward position in the squad because of the period he will be away to represent Nigeria. This is more so especially if the Super Eagles go far in next year’s AFCON.
The hosting for the 2022 biennial competition is Cameroon’s responsibility and it is billed to begin on January 9. The schedule of games and the competition will conclude on February 6, when one of the African countries that participated will lift the trophy. If it is Nigeria, it will imply that Osimhen, like his other colleagues from leagues abroad, will be unavailable for no less than five club ties.
That is why THEWILL believes it will be of great significance to his relevance in the Napoli team under new management to impress his importance early so that even with him far away in Cameroon when Napoli are away at Turin on Thursday, January 6, he will be welcomed back to the squad on his return irrespective of the results.
The Juventus away tie is the most crucial fixture Osimhen will miss. But, he will most likely not be available for games against Sampdoria, Bologna, Salernitana and Venezia again. These may not present as much of a challenge in the same way that Juventus or Inter Milan may, but to lose a player that cost as much as Napoli paid Lille for Osimhen (about €70m) and to have not seen the best of him for varied reasons can have consequences.
THEWILL recalls that it was while on international duties last year that the striker sustained shoulder injuries that left him sidelined for a lengthy spell and he was infected by the coronavirus as well which meant more time spent recovering. He also suffered a head trauma for a nasty fall during a Serie A game, which fortunately turned out not to be severe.
All these have interfered with his delivery and fitness at different times occurring one too many times just as Osimhen was beginning to reach peak performance. Each time he returned to active play, he always had to spend time tracking back to the highest levels. With all these, he still succeeded in netting 10 league goals, including seven in the last 11 matches, when some good form returned.
That is the inspiring level the 22-year-old will hopefully carry into the next season and build upon to give Spalletti every reason to repose in him the same confidence Gattuso had and that the AFCON will not interfere with for the rest of the season.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
