Nigeria and Super Eagles star Victor Osimhen. Photo by IMAGO
Belgian star Gaëtan Hendrickx has hailed Victor Osimhen as the ‘most complete striker’ he ever played with, Soccernet.ng reports.
The Eupen midfielder recalled the Nigerian’s remarkable transformation at Sporting Charleroi after a difficult start to life in European football.
Osimhen arrived in Belgium in 2018 at a crossroads in his career. Once a teenage sensation after scoring ten goals to fire Nigeria to the 2015 FIFA U17 World Cup title, his early promise dimmed at Wolfsburg, where injuries, adaptation struggles and loss of form left him frustrated.
By the time Charleroi took a chance on him, despite a failed medical, he was limping, out of rhythm, and in need of a restart.
The Belgian club signed him on loan with an obligation to buy, a decision that would soon transform their sporting and financial history. Within weeks, Osimhen began to rediscover sharpness, then confidence, and eventually a ruthless, electrifying edge.
Whether in training sessions or competitive matches, Hendrickx says the young striker’s talent was impossible to ignore.
“I have rarely seen such a complete striker,” Gaëtan Hendrickx, the midfield maestro of Charleroi at the time, told RTBF.
“Generally, a striker has one or two major strengths… but Victor had everything: power, speed, depth, technique, stamina, jumping ability, heading. Everything!
“I remember, at the beginning I went into Mazzu’s office and Felice said to me, ‘Take a good look at this one, because one day he’ll play for the biggest clubs in the world!’
At the time, I chuckled a bit… and we saw what happened next: I never would have imagined it! Besides, Felice always said he was like a son to him! (He laughs) You see his power and speed first, but technically, Victor is capable of doing crazy things.
“You’d send him an unstoppable high ball: I would have been afraid of tearing my leg, but he’d catch it with an incredible leap or move. It’s simple: you’d give him a hard time, and he’d make a great catch. Victor has this instinctive technique. Players who learned football in the streets.”
By mid-season, Charleroi exercised their €3.5million purchase option. It was a masterstroke.
Osimhen would finish the campaign with 20 goals and four assists in 36 matches, earning the club’s biggest outgoing transfer fee, €23 million, when he joined Lille in 2019.
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Victor Osimhen: A striker who scored, smiled and lit up the locker room
Hendrickx’s memories of Osimhen extend far beyond goals, statistics and technique. He recalls a decisive match in Kortrijk, where Osimhen almost single-handedly carried the club.
“I remember a match in Kortrijk, the Play-Offs 2 final, which he won for us single-handedly,” Hendrickx continued.
“Victor (Osimhen) scored both goals and qualified us for the Play-Offs against Antwerp. There, he scored again after 8 seconds… but in the end, we lost because we played the whole game with 10 men against 11.”
But it was Osimhen’s personality, his humility, humour and infectious joy, that Hendrickx still treasures.
“But the strongest image I have of Victor is also his smile and his zest for life. He would dance and sing in the locker room, he was always in a good mood, he never complained. He was very open, very polite, very attentive. He was also a very grateful guy, very humble: he never got a big head or thought he was something he wasn’t.
“I haven’t heard from him in a while, but I’m sure that if I were to run into him tomorrow, he wouldn’t have changed one bit and would say hello to everyone. He’s truly a great guy.”
Osimhen has since become one of world football’s elite forwards. After shining in France and then starring at Napoli, where he won Serie A and became one of Europe’s deadliest and most valuable strikers, he completed a record move to Galatasaray this summer.
Osimhen could still be on the move next summer as Real Madrid are keeping him firmly on their radar as a potential replacement for Vinícius Júnior.