Ajax Amsterdam manager John Heitinga has acknowledged the remarkable impact of Galatasaray striker Victor Osimhen, referring to him as one of the best strikers in the world, SportPremi reports.
The Dutch side welcome the Turkish champions to the Johan Cryuff Arena on Wednesday, as both teams clash on match-day four of the 2025-26 UEFA Champions League league phase.
The home side head into the tie at the bottom of the 36-team standings, after failing to win any of their three group games so far.
They have suffered defeats to Inter Milan, Olympique Marseille and were thrashed by Chelsea in their last outing.
Galatasaray, on the other hand, have claimed six points from a possible nine, bouncing back from their opening day defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt to win their next two matches.
Heitinga lauds Osimhen’s impact
Ajax manager John Heitinga spoke about the ability of Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen in his prematch conference ahead of the match.
The forward made history in Galatasaray’s last UCL clash, becoming the first-ever player to score in seven consecutive European games for the club.
“Osimhen is a great striker. He’s smart, strong, and fast; you have to be smart about that. He’s a pretty complete player,” Heitinga said.
“I do consider him one of the better strikers at the moment. There are few players as fast as him.
“If I were to compare Osimhen to someone, it would be these two people; one is Drogba, the other Ibrahimovic. He’s both strong and fast, and his physique is very good. We need to watch out for him.”
The 41-year-old also acknowledged his side’s poor start to their European campaign and hopes for improvement starting from Wednesday’s clash.
“I hope we’ll have more control on the ball and that what I see in training, I’ll see in the match tomorrow. We’ll do everything we can to neutralize him”, he added.
Who will come out victorious?
Both sides clash for a second consecutive season, following their battle in the UEFA Europa League last season, in which the Dutch side came out 2-1 victors.
Osimhen netted Galatasaray’s consolation in that encounter and will be a major threat once again on Wednesday night.
The Nigerian forward has found the back of the net in his last seven European matches for the club, including scoring three times in two UCL appearances this season.
Both sides have claimed one victory each from three previous meetings, but Galatasaray are the in-form side going into this particular clash and should nick a favorable result.
