Victor Osimhen could be Newcastle United’s Didier Drogba if they are £75m mystery bidders

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Lille forward Victor Osimhen is attracting plenty of interest with his form in France and, it seems, one club has, in fact, made a big-money move for the player. 

As reported by Telefoot, Lille have received an €85 million (£75m) bid for the player from an unnamed club. 

Several teams are reportedly interested in the player and Voetbal Belgie has suggested Newcastle United, along with others, as the apparent bidders. 

Indeed, as reported by Le10 Sport last month, Newcastle United are being credited with an interest in Osimhen. In fact, Newcastle’s interest dates farther back than that. 

In November, The Chronicle reported that Osimhen was on Newcastle United’s radar. His impressive form at Lille had the club scouting his progress but until now, it seemed his form had accelerated him above Newcastle’s paygrade. 

But with a Saudi-backed takeover around the corner, perhaps Newcastle could actually win the race for this long-term target. 

Osimhen has been compared to Didier Drogba in the past by his former Charleroi team-mate Nicolas Penneteau (La Voix Du Nord) and he could easily have a similar impact as the Ivorian did at Stamford Bridge if he headed to St James’ Park.

“I’m sure he’s going to be a phenomenon. I’d compare him to Didier Drogba. He really makes me think of him. He has the same profile. He can do everything and he’s phenomenally powerful.”

When becoming a mega-rich side, one thing needed quickly is a goalscorer to fire a team to glory. At Manchester City, they burned through the likes of Roque Santa Cruz, Craig Bellamy, Emmanuel Adebayor, Carlos Tevez, Edin Dzeko, and Mario Balotelli before Sergio Aguero fired them to glory.

At Chelsea, Hernan Crespo, Adrian Mutu, and Mateja Kezman were not the answer. But Drogba was. The recruit from Marseille soon became the club’s most dangerous frontman and fired Chelsea to glory. 

At Newcastle United, finding that goalscorer will likely prove as elusive a hunt. But if they are the team making early tracks to sign Osimhen, then the Nigerian nightmare might just be the striker they need to terrify Premier League defences.