Alex Iwobi has provided a rare inside account of Victor Osimhen‘s day-to-day intensity, crediting the Nigerian striker’s unyielding mentality as the foundation of a career that has placed him among the world’s elite forwards.
Speaking on the Beast Mode On Podcast, hosted by former professional footballer Adebayo Akinfenwa, the Fulham midfielder offered candid observations about his Super Eagles teammate. “Cool, cool guy. Every time in training, he’s always getting hurt… because he’s got to put his leg or his head into something that he shouldn’t,” Iwobi said. “He’s always been fighting.”
The 30-year-old playmaker made clear that Osimhen’s drive is not selective — it applies equally in training sessions and on the biggest stages in club football. “He doesn’t care who you are. He doesn’t care if you’re [Virgil] van Dijk or a guy from non-league… he will fight. He will treat a game in the Champions League as if he’s playing with his friends,” Iwobi added.
Iwobi also acknowledged that Osimhen’s raw, high-effort style does not always conform to conventional standards of technical refinement, but argued that output justifies the approach. “Some would say he’s not polished, he’s a bit raw, but Victor will create five chances a game for himself, just from hard work and running,” he said. “I’m not surprised he is where he is right now.”
The Fulham midfielder went further, describing an all-consuming will to win that occasionally crosses into competitive excess even during training. “He always wants to win, and that mentality is sick. It’s sick. Sometimes it can be over the top because in training, he would like to fight to make sure he’s winning. Then sometimes he cheats, and he knows he’s cheating just to win. But it’s just a sick mentality.”
Osimhen joined Turkish Super Lig club Galatasaray on loan from Napoli in 2024 after a high-profile standoff with the Italian club over his future. Since arriving in Istanbul, the 26-year-old has maintained a remarkable scoring rate, netting 56 goals in 70 appearances for the club. His form has sustained speculation linking him with a permanent move to one of Europe’s top leagues, with several clubs across the Premier League and elsewhere reportedly monitoring his situation.
Iwobi’s comments come at a difficult personal moment for the midfielder. He was forced off during Fulham’s goalless draw against Brentford at the weekend and is currently awaiting the results of further assessments on his injury, with Fulham’s manager providing cautious updates on his condition.
Despite his own fitness concerns, Iwobi also touched on his family connection to Nigerian football royalty during the podcast appearance, discussing what it is like to have former Bolton Wanderers and Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Jay-Jay Okocha — widely regarded as one of the greatest African players of his generation — as his uncle.
Osimhen’s trajectory from a difficult upbringing in Lagos to becoming one of the most productive strikers in European football has been well documented. His career has included spells at Wolfsburg, Charleroi, Lille, and Napoli — where he won the Serie A title in the 2022-23 season and finished as the league’s top scorer — before his move to Galatasaray. Nigeria’s national team, the Super Eagles, will be counting on his form as the country prepares for upcoming continental and World Cup qualification commitments.
