Nigeria and Napoli goal poacher Victor Osimhen has been named the Italian Serie A Player of the Month for January, following a superb performance to clinch honour for the second time in his career. 

The 29-year-old, who is currently the top scorer in Serie A this season with 16 goals, netted five times and assisted one in January to beat fellow Nigerian compatriot and Atalanta winger Ademola Lookman to the monthly award. 

Others nominated alongside Osimhen were Lazio’s midfielder Luis Alberto, Roma’s attacker Paulo Dybala and forward Lautaro Martínez of Inter Milan.

Osimhen is currently in the best form of his career as Napoli are on the verge of winning their first Serie A title for the first time since 33 years ago as they comfortably sit top of the league table with 13 points ahead of second-placed Inter Milan.

The Nigerian influence on Napoli’s title chase is being compared to that which Argentine football icon Diego Maradona, who died aged 50 in 2020, had on the ‘Gli Azzurri’ when the World Cup winner powered them to their second-ever league title triumph in the 1989/90 season.

Osimhen’s world class performance in the last two seasons has made him a priority transfer target for top clubs in Europe including Manchester United, who multiple reports said are willing to splash up to €112 million on the former Lille star in the coming months.

United’s fierce rival Chelsea, Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich, and Juventus are also said to be monitoring the situation around the Super Eagles forward in preparation for a possible transfer battle in the summer.

Meanwhile, Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis is adamant that the Nigeria international is not for sale anytime soon.

“He (Osimhen) is not for sale! Our players are in demand, but I don’t have to sell anyone. We don’t have any debts,” he told the influential German newspaper Bild on Wednesday.