2 days ago
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Top 10 transfers revealed
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In what promises to be one of the most headline-grabbing transfers of the summer, Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen is set to complete a sensational move to Galatasaray on a permanent deal for a fee in the region of €75 million - a signing that will obliterate the Turkish Süper Lig’s all-time transfer record. The 26-year-old striker lit up Serie A with Napoli and became one of Europe’s most sought-after forwards, and is set to sign for Galatasaray with a payment structure currently being negotiated.
He is now poised to bring his stardom to Istanbul for the long-term, after a successful loan spell with the club last season. Galatasaray’s ambition has never been in question, but this blockbuster move underlines their growing influence in the global market. Transfermarkt looks at the implications of the potential record-breaking transfer and what Osimhen’s arrival could mean for the future of Turkish football.
Victor Osimhen set to smash Turkish Süper Lig record transfer
As illustrated in the graphic above, Osimhen is set to not only break the record for the most expensive Super Lig transfer, but to utterly annihilate it. The current mantle lies with Youssef En-Nesyri's €19.5m move from Sevilla to Fenerbahce last summer. According to transfer reporter Fabrizio Romano, Galatasaray are happy to pay €75m, which is the player's release clause value, but are negotiating the payment terms so that they are to be over a five-year period. If the deal goes through for that sum total, it would be worth around four times more than En-Nesyri's move. A transfer on a whole new scale for the division.
The entirety of the top 10 record deals are for transfers to either Galatasaray or Fenerbahce, and the €15m mark has only ever been reached six times in the division's history. When Osimhen joined the Lions on loan last season, that sent shockwaves through the footballing world, but with it just being a temporary deal and there not being many other suitors for Osimhen at that late stage of the transfer window, it wasn't that shocking. However, now that the Nigerian is set to make his move to the Istanbul giants permanent, it really begins to put the Turkish Süper Lig on the map of top European football. Osimhen scored 37 goals in 41 games for Galatsaray during his loan spell last term.
Fans will be hoping Osimhen can help Galatasaray compete better in the Champions League next season. The club haven't progressed past the group stages since the 2012/13 campaign, in which they reached the quarter-final. Osimhen's potential permanent transfer, for such a staggering transfer fee, will have the watching footballing world taking notice. But only when Turkish clubs begin to perform better on the European stage will the division begin to get the pedigree it's fandom perhaps deserves.
