Gattuso eases Osimhen hype after hat-trick in Napoli debut

Gennaro Gattuso has called for calm from Napoli fans after new signing Victor Osimhen wowed in a pre-season run out against L’Aquila.

The Italian outfit saw off competition from Arsenal and Chelsea to pull off a major transfer coup in signing Osimhen from Lille in a £74million deal this summer, with the 21-year-old earmarked as a huge talent.

The Nigerian striker stepped out for the first time in a Napoli shirt in two 45-minute matches as part of the Serie A side’s pre-season schedule, and bagged a hat-trick in the 11-0 rout of L’Aquila on Friday.

Osimhen also provided an assist in what was a very impressive display that did little to quieten the excitement of the Napoli fanbase, but Gattuso has warned against putting too much pressure on the youngster.

‘It’s too easy to get excited now, we’ve got to give him time and let him work, not put pressure on,’ he told Sky Sport Italia via Football Italia.

‘He is an important player and we paid a lot for him, but there were no doubts he would give us something different that we haven’t had in my time here. There’s a long way to go.

‘It’s not like we suddenly signed Pele or Maradona, we simply brought in a player with certain characteristics that can help us.’

The 42-year-old reflected on the squad’s progress this pre-season, saying that he is happy with how the team are building towards the start of the 2020-21 campaign, as he looks to iron out costly errors from last season.

‘I am satisfied with the work we’re doing, the team is motivated and knows what it wants.

‘We are all aware that we have to improve in so many respects. We’ve got to do better when off the ball, be able to cover every inch of the field and find the right balance.

‘More importantly, stamina, because I still can’t believe we basically scored three goals against ourselves against Barcelona in the Champions League. We’ve got to stay totally focused for 90 minutes.

‘We must be aware that what we did last season wasn’t enough to qualify for the Champions League, so we must all do more and believe strongly in what we are doing.’