Former Napoli manager Francesco Calzona has offered high praise for Victor Osimhen but did not hold back in pointing out the striker’s biggest weakness following his high-profile move to Galatasaray, Footynaija.com reports.
Osimhen has joined Galatasaray permanently after a record-breaking season in Turkey. He scored 37 goals and supplied eight assists in 41 matches during the 2024–25 campaign, powering the Istanbul giants to a league and cup double.
His performance was a turnaround from his final months at Napoli, where a combination of injury issues and off-field tension saw him excluded from the squad by the end of August 2024. But Calzona, who trained Osimhen during Napoli’s round of 16 run in the UEFA Champions League and the Serie A, believes the 26-year-old still has areas to develop.
“Victor is a fantastic player with extraordinary qualities, especially physically,” Calzona told Spanish outlet AS, as cited by Pulse Sports.
“He must understand that playing for big clubs also means that at times he’s criticised for his performances. He must improve on this.”
The Italian coach was direct in identifying what he considers Osimhen’s biggest flaw:
“He must understand that criticism can be constructive and can help you improve where you may have some flaws. I think this could be his biggest flaw: accepting criticism when you’re not at 100%, especially at a major club like Napoli.”
Osimhen had initially joined Napoli from Lille in 2020 and was central to their Scudetto-winning campaign in 2022–23, scoring 26 goals in the league.
Calzona, however, stressed that the striker’s potential remains enormous.
“Osimhen was incredibly loved by the people there, and the club also took care of him. But he must handle difficult moments better,” he said.