There are two names that are beginning to dominate European football in the wake of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi's dwindling careers; Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe.
Two of the best forwards that the sport has ever seen are still in their early 20s and scarily enough, are yet to reach their true potential.
While Haaland continues to break goalscoring record after goalscoring record with Manchester City, Mbappe has grown into one of the most influential footballers on the planet, constantly starring in man-of-the-match displays during some of the biggest matches in the sport.
But there's another striker who is currently putting together one of the most lethal goalscoring campaigns in recent memory as he dominates Serie A and Champions League football.
His name is Victor Osimhen and at 24 years of age, he's arguably become the most exciting and most important striker in Europe this season.
Who is Victor Osimhen?
If you're a fan of European football, the name Victor Osimhen won't come with too much intrigue.
The Nigerian international has previously featured in the German Bundesliga with Wolfsburg, RSC Charleroi in the Belgian Pro League and Lille in French Ligue 1 across an esteemed playing career that only continues to grow.
In spells with those three sides he struck 38 goals across 90 club appearances, winning individual awards aplenty as well as being handed his debut for the Nigerian international side.
But it was with a £70million move to Serie A giants Napoli back in September 2020 where Osimhen developed into a household name for football fans.
Since then, his footballing career in Europe has blossomed and looks set to culminate in Napoli's first league title victory since the 1989/90 season. On that occasion their league win was spearheaded by none other than Diego Maradona but arguably, Osimhen's displays this season are proving even more important to his side's likely league success.
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Has Osimhen been the most lethal striker in Europe this season?
This season in particular, Victor Osimhen has truly become one of the most lethal and most elite finishers across European football.
Scoring 25 goals across 30 matches for Napoli this season, only Erling Haaland (47) and Kylian Mbappe (32) have currently struck more than Osimhen in terms of players at top five European clubs across all competitions.
Twenty-one of those strikes have come in Serie A where he remains top of the goalscoring standings, seven goals clear of Inter Milan's Lautaro Martinez as he looks set to become Napoli's first league Golden Boot winner since Gonzalo Higuaín in 2015/16.
But it's when you get into the finer details of Osimhen's finishing that you truly see how lethal he's been this season for Partenopei.
When assessing goalscoring per 90 (minutes of action) across Europe's top five leagues this season - in an effort to off-set Osimhen's various injuries that have hampered his playing time overall in comparison - only Haaland (1.4) is scoring more often per match than him (1).
His lethal nature this campaign can also be quantified when glancing at the expected goals (xG) statistics.
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That's because only three players across the whole of Europe are currently outperforming their expected goals tally this season more than Osimhen when including penalties. Whilst the Nigerian striker is +5.1 up on his output, Haaland sits at +8.9, Harry Kane at +5.9 and Arsenal's Gabriel Martinelli at +5.5.
For reference, Osimhen's +5.1 outperformance also puts him a distance ahead of players who are achieving fine seasons such as Marcus Rashford (+3.2), Kylian Mbappe (+1.2) and Robert Lewandowski (+0.2), which highlights how impressive his output has been so far this campaign.
In 2022/23, Osimhen also ranks very highly for shots attempted per 90, shots on target recorded per 90 and shot conversion rate as seen below.
Osimhen's attacking output ranked across all competitions against top five European league players with 15+ goals
| Goals per 90 | 2nd |
| xG per 90 | 4th |
| Shots per 90 | 2nd |
| Shots on target per 90 | 6th |
| Shot conversion rate | 6th |
All that points to a truly lethal finisher then who currently finds themselves at the top of their game and what's even more impressive is that Osimhen is doing this with Napoli.
That's not a knock on the Italian league leaders at all who have proven themselves as one of Europe's best sides this season and for good reason with their exciting play. But if for instance you swapped Osimhen into Manchester City's team instead of Haaland and gave him players like Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish, Bernando Silva, Phil Foden and more to work with instead, who's to say that he wouldn't also be smashing Premier League records this season.
Where else does Osimhen excel compared to his on-field rivals?
It isn't just his lethal finishing that makes Victor Osimhen one of the best strikers in Europe at present, there are plenty of other areas of his game where he excels compared to similar players at the highest level.
To start, there are few players across Europe that can break down an opposition's high line as easily as the Napoli man. His lightning quick pace coupled with his intelligent positioning and patient timing have in particular come to the fore this season and have drastically helped him to add to his goal tally.
When focusing on his Serie A output this season you also see how adept Osimhen is at creating opportunities for his teammates based on the above traits.
As well as the goals he's scored, he's also assisted on four occasions - the joint-fourth most for Napoli this season in the league - and has created 23 chances. Haaland in the Premier League has five assists and has created 20 chances for reference.
But where Osimhen really shines as a forward is in his off-the-ball work.
It's difficult to quantify that through data but on the eye-test side of things, fewer strikers in Europe possess the ability to beat defenders so often through just their movement.
Whether that's a well-timed sprint to the back post or a decoy feint one way just to end up going the opposite direction, Osimhen has proven time and time again this campaign that he's a menace to defend against.
That's something that's been highlighted through his varying goals which have come in an array of different forms, from tidy close-range finishes to bullet headers.
Following on from that, eight of his goals this campaign across all competitions have come with his head - the second-most of any player behind Harry Kane (9). His aerial ability in general is another underrated part of his game as he's won 53.4% of his aerial duels - more than a striker like Kane whose success-rate stands at 47.9% at present.
Is Osimhen the most important striker in Europe?
Perhaps the easiest way to sum up the importance of a striker for a side is to see what percentage of their side's goals said player has contributed in that season.
Osimhen has hit 25 goals across 29 Serie A and Champions League matches for Napoli this season - the third-most across across Europe's top five leagues. That means that this season he's scored 27.5% of all goals that the Italian side has struck (91).
In comparison to other elite level forwards around Europe this season, that percentage ranks quite highly but falls short against some of the big hitters.
Let's look at four examples. PSG's Kylian Mbappe has netted 36% of his side's goals this season, whilst Erling Haaland has scored a whopping 44.6% of Manchester City's. For the two Spanish giants, Karim Benzema has scored 31.7% of Real Madrid's goals and Robert Lewandowski 39.7% of Barcelona's strikes.
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What next for Osimhen?
Due to his fantastic performances throughout 2022/23, Victor Osimhen is now being courted by some of the biggest football clubs in the world who are ready to spend big money on the star forward.
His sketchy injury record remains a little concerning, but if you're to believe recent transfer reports surrounding the striker, clubs are looking to put in bids close to the £100million mark this upcoming summer.
Manchester United, Chelsea, PSG and Bayern Munich all remain in the frame for a move this off-season at present but a stay at Napoli isn't entirely out of the question.
The Italian club would find it difficult to turn down a huge offer for their Nigerian star in the near future but by all accounts, Osimhen is enjoying his time in Naples.
