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£1m offer for next Drogba

£1m offer for next Drogba

Yesterday we looked at some of our recent scouting, Rosenburg vs Lazio, Rennes vs PSG, to Anderlecht, Olympiacos and Club Brugge where we were one of 39 scouts, which gives a little insight into the transfer market.

In addition, I revealed that Liverpool have reached a provisional agreement with Corinthians to sign Brazilian striker Alexandre Pato, a player we have been watching. Some of these scouting missions are for players now and some for the future. Scouting is a constant process, you have to plan ahead in any business and playing football is no different, a club needs a conveyor belt of talent and that means constantly putting players in one end to come out the other.

On everyone's list at the moment is 16-year-old (17 in December) Victor Osimhem, a 1.85m (6ft 1/2in) Nigerian striker making a name for himself at the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Chile. He scored in the opening Group A game against the USA, then scored 2 against Chile, plus an assist and 1 against Croatia. Then in the last 16 he netted 3 against Australia, scored and had an assist against Brazil in the quarter-final. In the semi-final against Mexico he added another. In 6 games he has scored 9 goals, hardly surprising he is proving popular.

He has equalled the record of 9 jointly held by Frenchman Florent Sinama Pongolle (Trinidad & Tobago 2001) and Ivorian Souleymane Coulibaly (Mexico 2011) so success at this level is no guarantee of success at a higher level. Signing him is not going to be easy with clubs across Europe interested in him.

Before his exploits at the World Cup he was top scorer at the 2015 CAF African Under-17 Championships in Niger with 4 goals helping Nigeria to qualify for the FIFA Under-17 World Cup by reaching the semi-finals. They lost that semi-final to Mali who they now meet in the World Cup Final as they attempt to retain their crown.

Osimhen has good technique for a strong and athletic striker. He plays as a target man for nIgeria and at over 6ft is good in the air with has a strong right footed shot from distance. He has pace, acceleration and is a good finisher who wants to follow in the footsteps of his idol Didier Drogba and play in the Premier League. Drogba stood out because he has strong aerial ability allied to pace and skill on the ground, a rare combination, one is normally weaker than the other. 

Clubs in Europe are taking note because Osimhen is demonstrating the same traits. If he continues to develop in the same vein then he has the chance to emulate his idol, which would make him a huge asset to any club.

He has been effective from corners for Nigeria who use his pace by also playing balls behind opposition defences for Osimhen to use his pace to get away. He is adept at drifting wide into the channels to receive the ball and attack from there as well as pulling defenders out of position.

Reports in Africa suggest a Premier League club have offered £1-million (US$1.50m - AUS$2.14m - €1.4m), but don't mention who they are. other reports say Tottenham have made contact with representatives from his club, the Ultimate Stars Academy.

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