New Napoli boss reveals his first impression of Osimhen, Super Eagles star named in matchday squad v Atalanta 

In his first press conference as Napoli's new manager, Walter Mazzarri revealed his first impression of Victor Osimhen ahead of his side's trip to Bergamo, where they face Ademola Lookman's Atalanta on matchday 13 in the Serie A.

Mazzarri has named a 23-man traveling squad for the trip to Bergamo, with Osimhen part of the group. 

With the Serie A permitting fifteen players to be named on the substitutes bench, it is a foregone conclusion that the Nigeria international will be named in the matchday squad on Saturday evening, but whether or not he's given minutes is another matter.

Osimhen's rehabilitation went according to plan, given that he faced a recovery timeline of six weeks after suffering a hamstring injury while on international duty with the Super Eagles in a friendly against Saudi Arabia on October 13.

The 24-year-old found the back of the net in three consecutive matches in the Serie A before injury put a stop to his good run of form. 

Mazzarri has praised Osimhen for his goalscoring instinct and also lauded the number 9 for his work ethic. 

On his first impression of Osimhen, he was quoted as saying by Napoli's official webpage: "Osimhen is a hard-working lad who gives his all for the team and his team-mates and who has an extraordinary knack for scoring goals.

"I've only had him here for a few days. We're getting to know each other. In football terms, we'll need to wait a bit because he's coming back from an injury and hasn't been training for long."

Despite missing four straight games, Osimhen is joint third in the race for the Serie A Golden Boot, having mustered six goals along with Nicolás González (Fiorentina), Andrea Colpani (Monza) and Romelu Lukaku (Roma).

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

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