Super Eagles captain William Troost-Ekong has hailed Victor Osimhen as a generational talent, stating that the striker has what it takes to become Nigeria’s greatest footballer of all time.
Osimhen, who is reportedly nearing a permanent move to Turkish giants Galatasaray, has already scored 26 goals for the national team — making him the second-highest goalscorer in Super Eagles history.
Before rising to prominence with the senior team, Osimhen played a key role in Nigeria’s triumph at the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile. He finished the tournament with 10 goals in seven matches, winning both the Golden Boot and Silver Ball. His outstanding performances also earned him the CAF Youth Player of the Year award that same year.
“Automatically you want to lean and talk about your Jay Jay Okocha’s and those kind of players but I think I’ll have to stick with my generation,” Troost-Ekong said in an interview with ESPN.
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“I think Victor Osimhen has the potential to be the best player that we’ve ever seen in the Nigerian shirt,” he added.
Reflecting on past teammates, Troost-Ekong also praised former Super Eagles captain John Obi Mikel, describing him as one of the most underrated Nigerian players of his era.
“Pure talent wise, I loved playing with John Obi Mikel, I think he’s very very underrated. When I played with him at the Olympics he played as a number 10, the Super Eagles he played as a number 10 and I think then we really saw his talent and why he got signed by Chelsea at the age he did.”
When asked about the greatest African footballer of all time, Troost-Ekong named Liberia’s George Weah, the only African to have won the Ballon d’Or: “It’s got to be George Weah, because he won the Ballon D’or. We still have to see that again in the next years but I’ll give it to him,” he said.
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