AFCON 2025
Super Eagles skipper, William Troost-Ekong has heaped praise on Victor Osimhen, calling him a once-in-a-generation player with the potential to eclipse every Nigerian footballer that came before him.
Osimhen, who is reportedly close to sealing a permanent switch to Turkish powerhouse Galatasaray, has already racked up 26 goals in international duty — placing him second on Nigeria’s all-time goalscoring chart.
Long before his emergence as a star with the senior side, the striker made headlines during the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile.
He netted 10 times in seven appearances, powering Nigeria to the title and walking away with both the Golden Boot and the Silver Ball. His performances also earned him the CAF Youth Player of the Year award.
In a chat with ESPN, Troost-Ekong reflected on Osimhen’s trajectory, saying: “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,” he said.
“I think Victor Osimhen has the potential to be the best player that we’ve ever seen in the Nigerian shirt.”
Troost-Ekong also used the opportunity to shine a light on former teammate and ex-Super Eagles captain John Obi Mikel, lauding his technical ability and lamenting the lack of recognition the midfielder received over the years.
“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,” he noted.
When asked about the greatest African footballer of all time, Troost-Ekong gave the nod to Liberia’s George Weah, the only African player ever to win 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 concluded.
