Victor Osimhen left SSC Napoli on acrimonious terms last summer and joined Galatasaray on loanAntonio Conte ordered Napoli to sign former Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku as his replacementAn Italian publication has compared the points of the Neapolitans last season and this year in the league
SSC Napoli have performed better this season with Romelu Lukaku up top than they did in their title-defence season with Victor Osimhen leading their line.
Osimhen left Napoli at the start of the season after his relationship with the club broke down, and he joined Turkish champions Galatasaray on a season-long loan deal.
Antonio Conte celebrates with Napoli players during their 2-2 draw against Lazio. Photo by Andrea Staccioli/Insidefoto/LightRocket.
Source: Getty Images
Antonio Conte ordered Napoli to sign his trusted soldier Romelu Lukaku from Chelsea, having had the striker during his title-winning 2020/21 season at Inter Milan.
The Belgian striker has helped Napoli to the top of the table even though he has hit some rough patches and endured criticism from the fans and media.
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Osimhen, on the other hand, has impressed on loan at Galatasaray, helping the champions open a six-point lead over rivals Fenerbahce and are on course to retain their title.
Napoli doing better without Osimhen
Italian publication Football Italia has analysed how each Serie A team this season compares to the previous season, and Napoli have come out as the most improved team.
The 2923 champions have gained 17 points at this stage, more than they gained in the 2023/24 season, an unusually poor season where they had three managers.
However, as noted by Transfermarkt, despite the improvement, they are nine points worse than they were after 25 games in the title-winning season when they had accumulated 65 points under Luciano Spalletti.
Antonio Conte’s side are two points clear of champions Inter Milan and five points clear of the third team in the title race, Europa League winners Atalanta.
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Inter are the second-worst team in the league, having earned 12 fewer points than they had at this stage last season, only beaten by AC Monza, which has dropped 17 points.
Super Eagles goalkeeper Maduka Okoye’s Udinese are 10 points better at this stage than last season, while reigning African Footballer of the Year Ademola Lookman’s Atalanta are six points better.
There have been comparisons between Osimhen and Lukaku, forcing Conte to publicly defend the Belgian during a press conference last month.
“I didn’t expect to talk about Lukaku at every press conference,” he said. “Every player contributes, and we’re on 41 points thanks to everyone. We’ve managed absences, whether it’s him, Matteo, Kvara, or Neres.”
“We don’t rely on just one or two players; it’s about the collective effort,” he concluded.
Galatasaray’s Osimhen compared to Napoli’s Lukaku
Henzodaily.ng analysed Osimhen’s stats at Galatasaray and Lukaku’s numbers at Napoli in 2024 after the Belgian replaced the Super Eagles forward under Antonio Conte.
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Both strikers compared relatively similar in terms of attacking outputs and more so, had their teams at the top of their respective leagues in Turkey and Italy.
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Source: Henzodaily.ng