Africa Preass-Nigeria:<\/p>\n
It was a suffocatingly warm afternoon in Lagos and the stench of the Olusosun landfill smothered the nearby village. The largest dump in all of Africa, each day hundreds of locals sift through the skyscrapers of refuse searching for anything of value. It\u2019s a means of livelihood in the heart of Nigeria, each resident scouring for their own individual needle in the rotting haystack. For Victor Osimhen, the prize was a football boot.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d go to the dumpsite with my friend to look for them,\u201d the Lille forward tells The Independent. \u201cWe\u2019d see Nike left and Adidas right and try to combine everything together. I lived in a really poor neighbourhood and in our street, my family is one of the poorest. Sometimes the landlord would come to harass my dad and sisters for rent and I\u2019d go around the corner to cry and pray to God to help me.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I wasn\u2019t playing football, I\u2019d be selling stuff to help my family. After I lost my mum [aged six], my dad lost his job and me and my siblings would sell sachets of water to those working at the dumpsite in the sun. It was really hard, but everything is in the past now. I\u2019m happy I went through that phase of life because it helped me live up to my dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those dreams have taken Osimhen from barely imaginable poverty to an U17 World Cup trophy, from evenings spent counting coins in a cramped kitchen with his sisters to a new life in Europe and the glittering riches of the Champions League. At 21 years old, he is one of football\u2019s brightest talents, scoring 18 goals already this season at Lille, with a value now soaring into the tens of millions.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy family are okay now. That\u2019s the most important thing,\u201d he adds. \u201cBut I still have a lot more dreams for my career.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victor Osimhen
\nVictor Osimhen is being pursued by several top European clubs
\nSpeculation around Osimhen\u2019s future has snowballed rapidly, with several top Premier League clubs linked with the striker on a weekly basis. \u201cOf course, one day I\u2019d like to play for a big club in England,\u201d he says of the interest. \u201cI\u2019ve spoken to Odion [Ighalo] about it. He gave me very good advice, he\u2019s a legend and a big brother. My goal is to play at one of the biggest clubs in the world but now I\u2019m very happy in Lille. My priority is to play a lot of games. Signing for a big club and being on the bench is not exciting for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Osimhen is also determined that whispers over the future don\u2019t drown out his past. Nor is the interest of Europe\u2019s biggest clubs a new phenomenon. After winning the golden boot at the U17 World Cup \u2013 owing to a prolific connection with close friend and Villarreal winger Samuel Chukwueze \u2013 Osimhen regained control of his own destiny, able to escape a life in poverty for virtually any team of his choosing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI spoke with Arsene Wenger after the tournament ended and he wanted me to come to Arsenal,\u201d he says. \u201cI had a lot of options. Barcelona; Inter Milan; Atletico Madrid; Juventus and the rest.\u201d<\/p>\n
Instead, Osimhen chose Germany\u2019s distinctly less glamorous region of Lower Saxony. \u201cArsenal was a good option but it wasn\u2019t the best at the time,\u201d he continues. \u201cI wanted to start playing as soon as I turned 18. I wanted to go to a place where I had time to invest in my game and improve physically. Wolfsburg showed me that possibility.\u201d<\/p>\n
The culture shock was strange and intimidating. Soon after arriving, a torn meniscus forced Osimhen to undergo three surgeries, a shoulder injury required another operation, and it wasn\u2019t until four months later that he made his debut. \u201cIt was really tough when I first came,\u201d he says. \u201cAfter a few months, my dad and elder brother returned to Nigeria. I\u2019d come back from training and there\u2019d be nobody home. It was lonely. The food, the language, I had to adjust everything in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Africa Preass-Nigeria: It was a suffocatingly warm afternoon in Lagos and the stench of the Olusosun landfill smothered the nearby village. The largest dump in all of Africa, each day hundreds of locals sift through the skyscrapers of refuse searching for anything of value. It\u2019s a means of livelihood in the heart of Nigeria, each […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":23325,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,18],"tags":[174,115],"class_list":["post-23944","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-sport","tag-football-in-nigeria","tag-nigerian-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n