The Turkish Super Lig is a hotbed for old Barclays-era Premier League cult heroes and one-time next big things from the continent.
It’s a time-honoured tradition for ageing stars like Dusan Tadic, Edin Dzeko and Ciro Immobile to take a late-career payday out in Turkey as they see out their twilight years, and to that we say absolutely fair play.
But we’re increasingly seeing more peak-age players playing out in the Turkish Super Lig, begging the question of whether they could be playing at a higher level in a more high-profile European league. Here are six stars who are surely too good to be there.
Victor Osimhen
The obvious one.
Osimhen is only on loan at reigning champions Galatasaray after Napoli failed to find a suitable buyer in the summer.
This year in Istanbul feels a bit like a holding pattern as Napoli wait out, but in reality the 25-year-old Nigerian’s value is likely depreciating. It wasn’t so long ago that he was considered the hottest property in European football.
He’s notched seven goals and three assists in just 10 Super Lig appearances for a Galatasaray side that remain unbeaten and have already forged a comfortable lead at the top of the table.
His addition to their squad looks especially useful following the torn ACL suffered by strike partner Mauro Icardi.
Allan Saint-Maximin
The definition of a mercurial winger, Saint-Maximin always seemed destined to one day end up in the Turkish Super Lig. But his move to Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce feels at least a half-decade too early.
One of the most entertaining players in the Premier League on his day, the Frenchman’s departure from Newcastle United appeared fuelled by a particularly modern form of FFP-wrangling jiggery-pokery as opposed to anything more organic.
The Magpies officially made a small profit on Saint-Maximin by selling him to fellow PIF-owned Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Ahli. He spent a season there before being loaned out to Fenerbahce.
Gabriel Sara
Michael Olise, Jarrod Bowen, Adam Wharton, Joao Pedro – not to mention a certain Jude Bellingham – the list of outrageous talent signed from Championship clubs is ever-growing.
It’s easy to imagine Sara being signed by an established midtable Premier League club in the summer, having inspired an otherwise ordinary Norwich City side to a play-off place last season.
There’s an alternative reality in which he’s catching the eye at Bournemouth and getting call-ups to represent Brazil on the international stage.
The technically gifted midfielder instead joined Galatasaray for a club-record €18million and is now lighting up the Super Lig. English football’s loss.
READ NEXT: 10 perfect Turkish Super Lig signings from summer 2024: Batshuayi, Savic, Immobile…
TRY A QUIZ: Can you name every Turkish Super Lig Golden Boot winner since 2010?
Jayden Oosterwolde
No longer is the Turkish Super Lig a retirement home for established stars of yesteryear. Brighton signing Ferdi Kadioglu, Real Madrid signing Arda Guler and Bayern Munich signing Sacha Boey show it’s an emerging market for up-and-coming talent.
Fenerbahce left-back Oosterwolde is the latest name being linked with a move away. The 23-year-old is yet to represent the Netherlands, on the international stage but you imagine that Ronald Koeman will struggle to continue ignoring him if he moves to one of Europe’s major leagues.
West Ham, Everton and Crystal Palace were all tipped to sign Oosterwolde in the summer but he ended up staying put in Turkey.
READ: 5 of Jose Mourinho’s craziest moments in Turkey so far: Corruption rant, knee slides…
Baris Alper Yilmaz
Former coach Ilker Puren likened Yilmaz to the likes of Gareth Bale and Phil Foden. That might be pushing it a tad, but it’s not difficult to see why Premier League clubs including Liverpool, Tottenham and Wolves are reportedly keeping tabs on the 24-year-old Turkey international.
Able to play on either flank as a winger or a full-back, that versatility made Yilmaz a key cog in Galatasaray’s club-record 102-point Super Lig title surge last term. He was a near ever-present and regularly chipped in with goals and assists.
Yilmaz shone as a striker for surprise package Turkey at Euro 2024 and once again caught the eye in Galatasaray’s recent Europa League victory over Tottenham.
Mustafa Erhan Hekimoglu
Hekimoglu is not a household name… yet. But watch this space.
Another 2007-born wonderkid, Hekimoglu announced his arrival in Turkish football by scoring in Besiktas’ incredible 5-0 Super Cup mauling of rivals Galatasaray back in August.
The teenager is exactly where he needs to be right now, developing his game at his boyhood club and getting bed in gradually with semi-regular opportunities off the bench in the Super Lig.
But if Hekimoglu continues on his current trajectory and fulfils his potential, expect to see him follow in Guler’s footsteps as Turkish football’s next big export.
