Bologna coach hails Napoli star Victor Osimhen

Bologna manager Sinisa Mihajlovic has labelled Napoli striker Victor Osimhen as a “really strong” player ahead of their Serie A clash on Friday.

Osimhen has scored nine goals in 11 competitive matches this season and his fine goalscoring form has helped Luciano Spalletti’s men maintain an unbeaten streak in the Italian top-flight.

Napoli are three points behind leaders AC Milan, with a game in hand, and Mihajlovic described the Nigeria international as “an engine” who controls the Parthenopeans’ frontline, comparing him to former Inter Milan talisman Romelu Lukaku, who scored 24 Serie A goals last campaign.

He further claimed Osimhen justified the record amount paid for his signature from Lille in August 2020.

“He shifts the balance even more than Lukaku,” Mihajlovic said in a press conference, per Football Italia. “What do they eat in Naples?

“He seems like he has an engine. He’s ‘ignorant’, but in the good sense of the word. He runs, opens the game, restarts, scores.

“He’s really strong, but I didn’t expect this much. It’s also true that they paid €70m for him.”

Meanwhile, Napoli boss Spalletti also talked about Osimhen’s development despite their tight schedule across all competitions.

“When there are such tight deadlines, you risk being too heavy if you go into depth,” Spalletti said. “It’s clear that when there are weeks available, you also remain individually with different players, to work on what they do least.

“When the time is limited, it must be used at a group level, as a team. Then, even within the group, there are situations that can improve individual players because we watch videos, we work on possession and non-possession phases, on how our construction should be.

“Osimhen has already adapted very well and must know that he will receive much more. It’s part of his role. After the messages sent, he has received everything and now has exemplary behaviour, that is OK for us.”

Napoli dropped their first points of the season against Roma after a goalless draw on Sunday, but they have the chance to reclaim the top spot at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona if they grab maximum points.