Super Eagles and Napoli striker, Victor Osimhen was rated very poor in Napoli’s defeat to Barcelona in the Champions League Tuesday night.
Osimhen had the chance to stamp a summer transfer to the Premier League when Napoli faced Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday.
The Nigerian striker played the full 90 minutes for the Serie A club in Spain but turned in a wretched performance in front of watching scouts.
Some of the biggest clubs in the world are vying to sign the Nigeria international this summer.
Chelsea is at the head of the queue, having employed the likes of Didier Drogba and John Mikel Obi to act as agents on their behalf to talk the forward into a move.
Osimhen weighed little in the game as Napoli was beaten 3-1 by Barcelona, therefore crashing out of the Champions League.
His one shot on target was one of the few positive things he mustered in the game. Otherwise, it was forgettable at best.
Osimhen only touched the ball 29 times, and while this was the same figure as Barcelona striker, Robert Lewandowski, his overall contribution was much weaker.
He won only one of the 10 duels he competed in and only one of six aerial duels. Moreover, he gave the ball away 11 times and did not win it back once. Top cap it all, he was caught offside three times.
FootballCritic gave Osimhen a score of 5.9 for his performance.
But this was no one-off. It continues a trend of poor performances from Osimhen that dates back to the beginning of the season.
In big games, he has been particularly poor, often being given a rating under 6 by FootballCritic. This was the case when Napoli played Juventus at the start of March, with his first-leg goal against Barca very much an exception in key fixtures this season.
With such a prodigious scoring record during his time with Napoli, it would be wrong to write Osimhen off. Perhaps he has been distracted by the mounting transfer speculation. Maybe playing in a weak Napoli side is hurting him.
What is clear, though, is that he is not playing to anything like the level he managed last term, and that should come as a warning sign to Chelsea as they prepare to go all-in on him by potentially making him their most-expensive signing ever.