A former international, Garba Lawal has advised Super Eagles and Lille of France youngster, Victor Osimhen to give priority attention to playing time in any transfer negotiation he is having at the moment.
The former Golden Eaglets star who is at the centre of transfer speculations in Europe has been linked with top European clubs like Real Madrid, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Italian giants Napoli who are said to have tabled a mouth watering £4million a year deal for the player.
Although spoilt for choice, the former Roda JC of Holland utility player while speaking to Daily Trust yesterday advised Osimhen to look well before he is signed and dumped on the bench.
“The most important thing is playing time. Is the club he is going to ready to give him enough playing time? If yes, that will be fine because as a young player, you cannot be signed and kept permanently on the bench. If he moves and does not enjoy playing time, it will not be good for his career.
“So if he wants to leave his present club, he must think about the next club and his chances of playing. When you move to a new club and you have more established players ahead of you, it becomes very difficult. It reduces your chances of playing regularly,” he opined.
Furthermore, Lawal said all the top football leagues in Europe are as competitive as Italian Serie A so Oshimhen would face the same pressure anywhere he is going to play.
“Even the English Premier League is also very difficult. In these leagues, you have to score week in week out. You instantly feel the pressure when you don’t score.
“Iheanacho is lucky he scores anytime he comes on as a substitute. That is what is keeping him at Leicester City,” he said.
Lawal also advised the Lille Player of the Year not to allow any club president impose him on a coach.
“If the coach brings you into the team you are not going to have any problem but if it is the president that is bringing you, you are going to have problems.
“I will give you a good example of Andriy Shevchenko’s transfer from AC Milan to Chelsea. Roman Abramovich brought him to Chelsea because of their personal relationship but when he came, Jose Mourinho had his own strikers. So it was difficult for him to find playing time.
“So Osimhen must be careful in making these key decisions,” he said.
