Nigeria and Napoli goal poacher Victor Osimhen has been named the Italian Serie A Player of the Month for January, following a superb performance to clinch honour for the second time in his career, Abbeylivenetwork.com reports.
The 29-year-old, who is currently the top scorer in Serie A this season with 16 goals, netted five times and assisted one in January to beat fellow Nigerian compatriot and Atalanta winger Ademola Lookman to the monthly award.
Others nominated alongside Osimhen were Lazio’s midfielder Luis Alberto, Roma’s attacker Paulo Dybala and forward Lautaro Martínez of Inter Milan.
Osimhen is currently in the best form of his career as Napoli are on the verge of winning their first Serie A title for the first time since 33 years ago as they comfortably sit top of the league table with 13 points ahead of second-placed Inter Milan.
The Nigerian influence on Napoli’s title chase is being compared to that which Argentine football icon Diego Maradona, who died aged 50 in 2020, had on the ‘Gli Azzurri’ when the World Cup winner powered them to their second-ever league title triumph in the 1989/90 season.