'He is a player in my heart' – Italian boss praises Super Eagles star

The former Gil Vicente forward has not played for Nigeria in two years, but he has returned to international reckoning after his strikes lifted The Shark of Calabria back to the summit of Italian football

Forgotten Super Eagles striker, Simeon Nwankwo played a pivotal role in helping Crotone earn promotion to the Serie A at the end of the recently concluded season, and that has earned him high praise from the club’s chairman Gianni Vrenna.

Nwankwo joined Crotone four years ago and scored ten Serie A goals across two seasons before The Pythagoreans were relegated in 2018.

The 28-year-old refused to leave the demoted side, though, and have stayed to push them back among the elite ahead of the coming campaign.

The Nigerian forward has been one of the best performers for Crotone scoring 21 goals and providing three assists across all competitions.

Twenty of those goals came in 37 Serie B games, a tally which earned him the league’s top-scorer award.

Nwankwo is relishing the chance to go head-to-head with Napoli’s new boy, Victor Osimhen, next season and Vrenna has heaped praises on the striker he respects both as a man and as a player.

“He (Simy) is a player in my heart,” Vrenna told Calciomercato.

“Since he arrived, I have been one of the few who believed in him, who stimulated him and who were close to him.

“He is an exceptional man; he also took insults. Now is his time, I repeat: he is a great man, as well as a great player.”

Simy has bagged 44 league goals in 112 appearances for Crotone and currently has two years left on his contract.