Why ‘humble’ Osimhen is thriving at Galatasaray

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4 months ago

Galatasaray assistant manager Ismael Garcia Gomez admits even they were taken by surprise when the opportunity arose to sign one of the world’s most in-demand strikers.

At the end of August, Victor Osimhen was linked with top clubs in the Premier League and La Liga, or a money-spinning move to Saudi Arabia.

But a couple of days into September, the 25-year-old Nigerian was being mobbed at the airport arrivals in Istanbul, having signed on a year’s loan with the Turkish champions.

“We all know his summer was a bit shaky, there were so many rumours, just that he was definitely not staying [at] Napoli,” Garcia Gomez tells BBC Sport. “There were options in Saudi, Chelsea, I don’t know exactly what happened.

“But in [the] last days of [the] market there was an option for us to try. I remember coming from an away game, the head coach Okan Buruk had the first call with him, when we were about to fly back to Istanbul.

“Then in two days everything was done. For the club, for the fans, it was an amazing signing to start the season.”

Osimhen burst into the worldwide football consciousness when he scored 26 goals in 32 Serie A games as Napoli raced to the title in 2022-23.

But after staying at Napoli for the 2023-24 campaign, things went sour as Osimhen fell out with owner Aurelio de Laurentiis amid a downturn of form for the team, a turnover of managers and some questionable social media output by the club in relation to the Nigerian.

Galatasaray assistant manager Ismael Garcia Gomez admits even they were taken by surprise when the opportunity arose to sign one of the world’s most in-demand strikers.

At the end of August, Victor Osimhen was linked with top clubs in the Premier League and La Liga, or a money-spinning move to Saudi Arabia.

But a couple of days into September, the 25-year-old Nigerian was being mobbed at the airport arrivals in Istanbul, having signed on a year’s loan with the Turkish champions.

“We all know his summer was a bit shaky, there were so many rumours, just that he was definitely not staying [at] Napoli,” Garcia Gomez tells BBC Sport. “There were options in Saudi, Chelsea, I don’t know exactly what happened.

“But in [the] last days of [the] market there was an option for us to try. I remember coming from an away game, the head coach Okan Buruk had the first call with him, when we were about to fly back to Istanbul.

“Then in two days everything was done. For the club, for the fans, it was an amazing signing to start the season.”

Osimhen burst into the worldwide football consciousness when he scored 26 goals in 32 Serie A games as Napoli raced to the title in 2022-23.

But after staying at Napoli for the 2023-24 campaign, things went sour as Osimhen fell out with owner Aurelio de Laurentiis amid a downturn of form for the team, a turnover of managers and some questionable social media output by the club in relation to the Nigerian.

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So bad did relations get, Osimhen was not given a squad number for the 2024-25 season as new boss Antonio Conte signed Romelu Lukaku as a direct replacement.

Unsurprisingly Osimhen was linked with almost every major club in Europe, although a new contract signed at Napoli in December 2023 did not make a transfer easy or cheap.

Ultimately, a loan move was easiest for everyone – but by the time the dust settled it was September, and the transfer windows of almost every major European league were closed. But not in Turkey.

‘Galatasaray was an amazing option’

Victor Osimhen in action against Besiktas
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