Former Napoli and Italy striker Stefan Schwoch has criticised Victor Osimhen over his inconsistent record from the penalty spot.
Schwoch believes the Nigerian striker’s technique from 12 yards makes it very easy for goalkeepers to read and save his penalties.
Osimhen has been in sensational form for Napoli since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON 2024), where he helped Nigeria to secure a runners-up medal.
Although the 25-year-old scored just one goal for the Super Eagles during the tournament, he has found the net in three of his last four games for Napoli.
Schwoch says Victor Osimhen misses too many penalties
Osimhen was on the scoresheet in Napoli's UEFA Champions League Round of 16 first-leg against Barcelona. He scored once again during Napoli’s 1-1 draw with Cagliari in Serie A.
The forward followed it up with a sensational hat-trick against Sassuolo but missed a penalty when Francesco Calzona’s side faced Juventus last weekend.
With the scoreline deadlocked at 1-1 after Federico Chiesa had cancelled out Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s first-half opener, Napoli were awarded a penalty with just two minutes left on the clock.
Osimhen assumed the responsibility but saw his effort saved, although his blushes were spared by Giacomo Raspadori, who reacted quickest to score from the rebound to hand the hosts an important 2-1 victory.
Schwoch, who played for Napoli from 1999 to 2000, believes while Osimhen is a great player, he is not great at taking penalties.
“It’s impossible not to save it (Osimhen’s penalty), given his body posture. Three errors out of seven attempts from the spot are too many,” Schwoch said, as quoted by Il Bello del Calcio.
“There are phenomenal players who, however, aren’t skilled from eleven metres. Osimhen appears to be one of them.”
Victor Osimhen’s inconsistent penalty record
Osinhem remains, comfortably, Napoli’s best player after being involved in 17 goals (13 goals and four assists) in all competitions this season.
However, his poor conversation rate from the spot has raised questions over whether he should be Napoli’s first-choice penalty taker going forward.
It will be recalled that Osimhen ceded penalty-taking duty to William Troost-Ekong during the Africa Cup of Nations in the Ivory Coast, with the defending going on to score all three penalties he took during the tournament.
For Osimhen, though, his penalty miss against Juventus last week was the sixth in his professional career. He has also missed two of his last four penalties while, in the last two seasons, no player in the Italian topflight has missed more penalties than the Nigeria international in all competitions.
One of his controversial misses from 12 yards came in September 2023 when Napoli’s TikTok account appeared to troll him when he failed to convert his penalty against Bologna. Although that is now in the past, Osimhen’s poor penalty record could see other players move ahead of him in the pecking order when it comes to penalty-taking duties at Napoli.
FFP threatens to derail Osimhen’s move to Premier League
Osimhen continues to be a target of several clubs in Europe, with Premier League teams said to be leading the race for his signature.
But while Manchester United and Chelsea are both prepared to break the bank for the Napoli striker, reports suggest they could be hindered by Financial Fair Play regulations.
Osimhen has a release clause of €130 million, which could be way more than the aforementioned English clubs will be able to spend after already spending big last summer.
Reports suggest both Chelsea and Manchester United will move on to cheaper targets if they’re unable to get Napoli to bring down their asking price for Osimhen.
Meanwhile, Arsenal, Juventus and some Saudi Arabian clubs are also said to be monitoring Osimhen’s situation and could swoop in at the end of the season.
