What does Osimhen need to do to emulate Drogba?

Broadly speaking, there are two ways to understand descriptive comparisons between players from different eras.

One is a matter of convenience. Outlining the nuances in a footballer's game can be quite onerous, and can often involve language that is inscrutable to the layman. Also, it helps to establish what the benchmark is for relative terms like 'speed' and 'dribbling': saying a player is quick will likely elicit the question 'as quick as so-and-so?'

The other is a matter of accessibility. There is a lot of football played in the world, and few have a handle on all of it. It can be useful, in this scenario, to liken a player to a well-known icon of a previous era as a sort of shorthand.

The comparison between Victor Osimhen and Didier Drogba falls into the later category to a degree, but really there is a simpler root to it: the first person to make the connection, Osimhen's former teammate Nicolas Penneteau, did so simply because of the Nigerian's move to Ligue 1.

It was in the French top flight, of course, that Chelsea and Ivory Coast legend Drogba cut his teeth and announced himself to the world. Osimhen has followed in the same vein, and so perhaps Penneteau's intuition was correct.

Except there are more than a few points of divergence.

For one thing, the former Ivory Coast international took a much more scenic route in passing through France, playing for three different clubs in his senior career over a six-year span. For another, in leading them to the final of the Uefa Cup in 2003, he achieved a much higher level of success with Marseille than Osimhen managed with Lille. Also, by the time Drogba eventually moved on to bigger things at Chelsea, he was already 26.

But perhaps the biggest difference between the two is the most obvious one: their playing styles are nothing alike. At least not yet.

Indeed, some of Drogba's biggest strengths – hold-up play, aerial dominance – remain distinct weaknesses for the younger Osimhen, even though he began to show marked improvements in terms of bringing others into play toward the end of the French league season.

A closer approximation for the 21-year-old, taking into account his speed, stride, predatory instincts in the box, and shooting technique is probably a player most frequently cast in the role of Drogba nemesis and adversary: a young Samuel Eto'o.

Considering the Cameroonian was the superior forward, Emmanuel Amuneke's claim that his former protege could eclipse Drogba becomes all the weightier. At 21, far from commanding a near record fee for an African player, the former Chelsea man was struggling to find his feet at Le Mans.

However, even with the benefit of a significant head start, Osimhen would do very well to match what Drogba did in his playing career.

The latter's arrival in Chelsea in 2004 heralded the beginning of an era of unprecedented success for the London club, and despite not always being prolific, Drogba came to be identified as one of the lynchpins of the team by dint of his penchant for decisive contributions.

His record in club finals, scoring 10 in 10 for the Blues as they amassed multiple FA Cups and League Cups, has now passed into legend.

Chelsea's rise also effectively interrupted the eight-year status quo at the summit of the English top flight, and also introduced a new force on the European stage.

This is the challenge to which Osimhen must stand up at Napoli, a club with a long-standing lust for the Scudetto. With the likes of Dries Mertens, Jose Callejon, Allan and Kalidou Koulibaly coming to (either or both) the ends of their primes and their affiliation with the club, the time is right for a rebuild of sorts.

As such, Osimhen is being signed essentially as a figurehead for Aurelio De Laurentiis' next shot at the title. If the Neapolitans are to achieve it, they must end the nine-year status quo at the summit of the Serie A table.

For that to be remotely realistic, they will need their new striker to lead the charge.

If he can consistently affect the big games, all the better; this is an area where Napoli have consistently fallen short in recent times.

Admittedly, the challenge is a lot more daunting for the Nigeria international. Chelsea at least had the benefit of a billionaire owner immediately elevating them financially, and a Uefa Champions League-winning manager transforming them on the pitch. For all that he has already guided them to silverware, Gattuso is no Jose Mourinho.

Still though, the path to legend status has never been easy. Drogba himself, by his own admission, needed to adapt to the demands at Chelsea.

Osimhen, to this point in his career a quick study, will need to do the same, and do so quickly, in order to be spoken of in the same breath.