Victor Osimhen started the summer hoping to end it with a move from Napoli that would see him follow in the footsteps of childhood inspiration, Ivorian Didier Drogba, by joining a football club the latter had played for in the past.
And that is just what he has managed to do, with a transfer to Galatasaray — not quite Chelsea, the club Osimhen originally had (and probably still has) in mind — that has been sealed and announced this week.
Osimhen's stay in Istanbul is expected to be rather brief, with Galatasaray fully aware that they are only providing a transit point/springboard from which the forward could make a push for a bigger destination.
But even if he stays no longer than the year his loan deal is expected to last at full length, there is still a lot Osimhen could accomplish a la Drogba — who was himself around just a little longer than a year before returning to Chelsea — to make his stay memorable for everyone.
Here are four milestones that could be within his reach.
Score on debut
Drogba made his bow against Akhisarspor in February 2013, coming off the bench just after the hour-mark. It only took him five minutes to score, firing in the opener in a 2-1 win for Galatasaray.
It was a debut to remember, and fans of the club will expect the same from their new big African striker, whenever it is that Victor Osimhen first turns out in the Cimbom's famous yellow-and-red shirt.
That occasion would likely be just after the international break, at home to Rizespor; in that sense, he could go one better than Drogba, who did not net at Galatasaray's Ali Sami Yen Stadium until April (2013).
Score in the derby
Drogba's maiden taste of the feisty Intercontinental Derby, which it shares with Istanbul rivals Fenerbahce, was not a very pleasant experience: Galatasaray lost, Drogba got booked, while he and compatriot/teammate Emmanuel Eboue were subjected to racist chants by the opposing fans.
Three months later, in August 2013, Drogba had his revenge, scoring the only goal to win the Turkish Super Cup for Galatasaray at Fenerbahce's expense.
Victor Osimhen's first meeting with the Efsane could come much sooner — potentially in only his second game — when Galatasaray make the short trip into the city's Asian half for a league game, and Osimhen would be keen to make an impression.
Win silverware
The Turkish Super Cup winners’ medal was not the only piece of silverware Drogba took away with him as souvenirs from his Anatolian adventures; he actually achieved a clean sweep of domestic honours in Turkey, having also helped his team win the Super Lig and the Turkish Cup.
Victor Osimhen would be eyeing a haul like that, surely, with an eye also on Europe, where Galatasaray will compete in the UEFA Europa League.
Even if he ends up with just one major honour, that would count as a fairly successful campaign, and it is in the league, of which Galatasaray — the country's most decorated club, by the way — are holders and favourites to win a third straight title, despite the best efforts and advances of a certain Jose Mourinho's Fenerbahce, that glory is most likely to come.
Bang in the goals
It is safe to say Galatasaray fans were not expecting a ton of goals from Drogba when he arrived, given the striker was almost 35 and on his last legs.
They appreciated him giving all that was left in the tank, though, and Drogba's enduring class ensured he was still able to reach double digits in goals — a respectable 20 in all — by the end of his time there.
Prime Osimhen, the supporters have every reason to believe, should be capable of just as many — or even more!
