Victor Osimhen could emerge the African POTY in 2023 even without an appearance in the African Nations Cup or World Cup, according to former Nigerian Forward Victor Ikpeba.
In 1997 Ikpeba, then at AS Monaco, emerged as the best Player in Africa although he had not featured in an African tournament.
The AFCON tournament that was set to for this year was postponed till 2024 and Ikpeba has advised the 24 year-old to keep his form at Napoli to stay ahead.
“Victor Osimhen has done well, he has been fantastic and he is on form. It’s not easy to score 20 goals in all competitions just in February which is a proof of how good he is.
“Time will tell, the only thing Victor Osimhen needs to do is to keep his head down, focusing on winning the Serie A, and emerging as top scorer.”
“The Nations Cup and the World Cup was last year so it shouldn’t factor in much, Victor Osimhen has won individual awards already and he currently is the best African player.”
“Remember that there is no AFCON this year so it makes Osimhen have a strong case especially if Napoli wins the Serie A.
“In 1997 when I won (African POTY award), there was no AFCON so I was judged based on my performance at my club side.
“So he just needs to remain focused and keep doing what he’s doing because he has a huge chance to win the award.”
