18-year-old Nigerian defender catches attention of Belgian clubs after just two games abroad
18-year-old Nigerian central defender, Vince Osuji, is gaining the attention of top clubs in Europe after just two games in Sweden, Soccernet.ng reports.
The 2006-born defender can play in the heart of the defence and fit into the middle of the park as well, showcasing his versatility at such a young age.
Osuji joined Swedish Allsvenkan side, Kalmar Fotbollförening, popularly called Kalmar FF, from De Cardinal Football Academy in Nigeria back in April, and only started their last two games, playing 158 minutes so far.
Osuji in action for Kalmar FF
In two league appearances for Kalmar FF, clubs have swooped in to enquire about the teenage sensation. As per Swede outlet, Sportbladet, two Belgian clubs are interested in the 18-year-old defender.
His Agent, Patrick Mörk, confirmed that he received calls from no less than three clubs after Kalmar’s loss to Brommapojkarna. Despite the loss, Osuji’s performance stood out, as he racked up a 91% pass accuracy.
Vince Osuji (18) against AIK.
– 68 minutes played
– 100% completed dribbles (3/3)
– 100% aerial duels won (1/1)
– 91% accurate passes (30/33)
– 4/5 accurate long passes
– 9 clearances
– 2 tackles
– 1 interception
– 7/10 total duels won
He made his debut for Kalmar FF. pic.twitter.com/hsq9RMaYgz
— 🇸🇪 (@SwedeStats) July 7, 2024
The young defender had been on Kalmar’s radar for a while, but he’d agreed on a deal with Belgian side, KRC Genk. However, the youngster was denied a Belgian visa, re-opening the route to Sweden.
Osuji has been touted to follow in the footsteps of AFCON 2023 winner – Bayer 04 Leverkusen’s Odilon Kossounou. Kossounou joined Swedish side, Hammarby in the 2019 winter transfer window, and in the summer, made a €3.85m move to Club Brugge. After two years, the Ivorian moved to Germany and won the Bundesliga and DFB Pokal under Xabi Alonso.
Kalmar FF however, want the defender to develop in the right path, and won’t force any movement for the young defender for the foreseeable future.
Adefolahan Guerreiro
Adefolahan is a multilingual journalist and writer at Soccernet Nigeria.
With a track record of involvement in College sports, Adefolahan is focused on crafting engaging football content and utilising his language skills and extensive sports knowledge to enhance content accessibility for a global audience.
He has interviewed Nigerian stars like Finidi George, Junior Lokosa, and Abraham Onahi Ogbu.
