Man Utd £150m pair among 11 Premier League stars who could be rescued by Turkey
The Turkish Super Lig transfer window is open until September 13 and that has presented a bunch of Premier League clubs the opportunity to shift some of the deadweight they failed to offload on deadline day.
Victor Osimhen has been rescued by Galatasaray in a shock move from Napoli and we are confident he will not be the last high-profile player to move to Turkey over the next fortnight.
Here are 11 Premier League players we think could follow in Osimhen’s footsteps…
Ben Chilwell (Chelsea)
There are quite a few Chelsea players in need of a fresh start. If they don’t fancy the hassle and would rather continue living on the incredibly lengthy contract Chelsea handed to them, we really can’t blame them. We’re thinking Carney Chukwuemeka, Cesare Casadei, David Datro Fofana, Benoit Badiashile, Axel Disasi, and of course Ben Chilwell.
It was reported on Tuesday that Chelsea are willing to loan Chilwell out to Turkey and the left-back has little choice but to oblige. Again, he can sit on his £200,000-a-week contract, twiddling his thumbs, but that will hardly help his England career, nor his chances of leaving in January and hitting the ground running at his new club. Match fitness is key.
Chelsea paid an awful lot of money for Chilwell in 2020 – believed to be around £45million – and while his performances have underwhelmed at times, the treatment he has received is pretty harsh. Enzo Maresca insists he doesn’t suit his style of play, which is absolutely fine, but Chelsea’s method for getting rid of unwanted players is desperate and rash.
Maresca talked about the importance of Raheem Sterling days before the Premier League season kicked off and before we knew it, he was a part of the Blues “bomb squad”. It is hard to keep up with what’s happening at Stamford Bridge but we do know that Chilwell has no future there.
Casemiro (Manchester United)
Jamie Carragher suggested Saudi Arabia or MLS for a struggling Casemiro after having his pants pulled down by Michael Olise and co. last season. The Turkish Super Lig is not quite on the same level of semi-retirement to those two leagues, but it comes pretty close.
Casemiro definitely did not envision being ridiculed for his performances two years after joining Man Utd for £60m but here we are. He has had a wonderful career but it is slowly being outshone by his degrading performances for the Red Devils. Please go to Turkey before it’s too late, fella.
Man Utd will likely be willing to send Christian Eriksen to Turkey if a call is made, while Victor Lindelof’s future does not appear to be at Old Trafford. In fact, has anyone seen Victor lately? Fabrizio Romano says he is happy to ride out the last year of his Red Devils contract.
Antony (Manchester United)
Glory, glory Man Utd. Reports in Turkey suggest that Fenerbahce and Jose Mourinho are interested in a loan move for the £80m misfit who has found himself below Alejandro Garnacho and Amad Diallo in the pecking order. He has played one minute of Premier League football this season.
Kieran Trippier (Newcastle)
It is clear that Trippier is no longer top dog at Newcastle with Tino Livramento rightly favoured by Eddie Howe, while Lewis Hall, Lloyd Kelly and Dan Burn appear to be ahead of him in the left-back pecking order.
Trippier’s form has taken a nosedive over the last 18 months and there has been talk of a contract termination, which gives any club the right to sign him. A move to Turkey makes sense and feels suitable for the 33-year-old, who was also linked with Everton in the summer window.
There is a bit of right-back uncertainty at Fenerbache with Jose Mourinho choosing Mert Muldur one week and Bright Osayi-Samuel the next. Despite slating him for his form, we do think Trippier would be a great signing for them.
It is probably a little late in the day to suggest selling Miguel Almiron but he is a player some Newcastle fans will be happy to see the back of and the Paraguayan is currently out of favour at the expense of Jacob Murphy and Harvey Barnes – who has predominantly played on the left but is proving to be an option on the other side, while Anthony Gordon can also play there to accommodate for Barnes.
While we are at it, we have no clue what place baffling £20m signing Odysseas Vlachodimos has in Howe’s team. He has served his purpose as a PSR puppet and needs to move on.
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Jakub Kiwior (Arsenal)
Reports suggest Arsenal have no plans to let Polish international Kiwior leave, but Mikel Arteta has an awful lot of depth on the left side of his defence. Ricardo Calafiori joined in the summer for big money and Kieran Tierney has not been loaned or sold due to his current injury. Oleksandr Zinchenko is another who has stayed at the Emirates. Besides the Carabao Cup, where the minutes come for Kiwior is anyone’s guess.
Arteta must have a plan for Kiwior if he did not sanction his exit when the transfer window was fully open. He is a decent player, you know. It would be a shame to cut ties after such a short relationship because he has the potential to grow into a regular starter for Arsenal. Maybe that is wishful thinking.
His ability to play left-back and centre-back makes Kiwior a desirable player. He could be one to watch over the next two weeks.
Philip Billing (Bournemouth)
“I want him to stay. Yes, definitely.” That is what Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola had to say about Billing last week. He obviously wants the depth and the security that brings but we can’t see a route into the Cherries team for the Danish midfielder. He is behind Lewis Cook, Ryan Christie, Alex Scott, and presumably a fit Tyler Adams in the pecking order.
There was talk of a loan move to Leeds United but Billing did not want to play in the Championship. He does probably just about fit into the exclusive camp of players too good for the second tier but not quite good enough for the top flight. Dwight Gayle says hello.
Turkey? Yeah, why not? Trabzonspor, Istanbul Basaksehir, or Kasimpasa could do a lot worse.
Matheus Nunes (Manchester City)
Portuguese playmaker Nunes has been given a few minutes at the start of the season but with Rodri returning and Ilkay Gundogan’s game time likely to increase, we fear for him.
There have been some links to Turkey and we reckon a loan move could be superb for the player, City, and whichever Super Lig side gets him.
Nunes has underwhelmed at City, a club where it is easier to sink than swim given Pep Guardiola’s demands, the competition for places, and the pressure having cost a lot of wonga. The Premier League champions paid over £40m to sign him from Wolves and so far we can confidently say that has not been a great investment.
But Nunes is clearly a talented boy and we think a Turkish loan could massively benefit his career, as long as he doesn’t become another Gedson Fernandes. Remember him? He’s doing great at Besiktas.
Tariq Lamptey (Brighton)
Arsenal winder-upper Joel Veltman has been favoured by Graham Potter, Roberto De Zerbi and now Fabian Hurzeler. We aren’t sure where it has gone wrong for the Ghanaian international but Brighton seem to have outgrown him.
There was once talk of him costing £40m but with less than a year on his Albion contract, the club might look to cash in while they have the chance. Whether a Turkish team wants to sign him permanently remains to be seen and feels unlikely, though a loan departure should not be ruled out.
Brighton were reportedly willing to offload Lamptey on deadline day and with that failing to come to fruition, he could be an option for someone like Fenerbahce.
Boubakary Soumare (Leicester City)
Soumare was linked with a return to France with AS Monaco keen but that never happened, while Fenerbahce have reportedly looked into signing the 25-year-old. Mourinho has since brought in Sofyan Amrabat so a move for Soumare feels pretty unlikely.
But there are other clubs in Turkey and Soumare stinks of it. Some players just reek Turkey.
Djed Spence (Tottenham)
Spurs are light on right-backs but it seems it would take something drastic for Spence to get a run in the side. Signed for around £20million in July 2022, it was quickly clear that Antonio Conte didn’t fancy him and opportunities have also not come under Ange Postecoglou.
The lack of a right-back signing probably means Postecoglou will want to keep Spence around but if a decent offer comes in, it will be hard to turn down.
Carlos Vinicius (Fulham)
Vinicius spent the second half of 2023/24 on loan at Galatasaray, scoring twice in 14 appearances. He has a pretty impressive CV, representing Tottenham, Benfica, PSV, Monaco, and currently Fulham.
There was talk of a £2.5m transfer to RB Bragantino in Brazil but talks collapsed, making a return to Turkey a possibility. Reports suggest that Fulham pulled out of the deal at the last minute, which hints that a move to the Super Lig won’t happen. We are running with it regardless.
Vinicius is not at the level required to play for Galatasaray again but we think a nice mid-table move should suffice, whether that is on loan or permanently.
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