Former Super Eagles player, Odion Jude Ighalo has criticized the treatment of Victor Osimhen by Nigerian football fans following his exclusion from Napoli’s squad for the season.

Osimhen was unable to secure a transfer before the window closed and is now set to be sidelined with no playing time until January. 

Despite his clear intention to leave Napoli towards the end of last season and the arrival of new coach Antonio Conte, who preferred Romelu Lukaku, no deal materialized. 

Osimhen was heavily linked with Chelsea and Al Ahli on the last day of the transfer window, but neither move came to fruition.

Antonio Conte has since stated that Osimhen will not be reintegrated into the squad, saying, “No player will be reintegrated. Those who are out of the project will remain out of the project. We made our choices and work in one direction all together.”

Ighalo, the former Manchester United player, took to X (formerly Twitter) to express his concerns:

“No human being is perfect and we have all made mistakes in life, but seeing comments about this young man from his own country people makes me really sad.

Without even knowing what happened, I spoke to him and I could feel the pain in his voice, the way he’s been treated, this young man plays with heart and pain for his country, Hmmm it’s well, he will definitely be back stronger, we learn every day in life.”

Although the Saudi Arabian transfer window remains open, it is uncertain whether Osimhen will make a move there, having previously expressed his preference to remain in Europe.