Victor Osimhen may now be CAF Player of the Year and valued at 110 Million Euros, but in 2018 he was rejected by as many as three Belgian clubs, who must now be kicking themselves for not taking a chance on the striker.
The first to reject Osimhen were Zulte Waregem, who now play in the Belgian second division.
Francky Dury recounted on Extra Time: “He was the fourth striker at Wolfsburg and then I negotiated with him.
“He was 19 years old at the time and came on our radar through an agent.”
He continued: “Top scorer with Nigeria at the U17 World Cup, his substitute appearances in Wolfsburg were top, but he had had shoulder surgery, had knee problems and had malaria. Then it becomes a difficult medical screening, he had the wrong shoes for the physical tests. That made it a difficult story.”
KV Oostende were his next port of call and he was proposed by the agent, Didier Frenay.
He was also rejected there as well as Club Brugge, before Charleroi finally signed him on loan from Wolfsburg.
“I asked Mazzu (Charleroi coach) how he got through that screening, And he said that if Mogi (Charleroi chairman) says a player should be signed, he will be signed and not even tested,” Dury concluded the story of rejections.
Charleroi will go on to smile all the way to the bank when they sold for a huge profit to Ligue 1 club Lille and, as they say, the rest is now history.
