Galatasaray of Turkey striker, Victor Osimhen is still the highest rated foreigner in the Turkish Super Lig and probably the best of all time, despite the arrival of Egpyt’s Mohammed Salah at Trabzonspor, Sports247 reports.
While Salah’s quality is not in doubt and his arrival at Turkey’s fourth biggest club – behind Fernebahce, Galatasaray and Besiktas – is also highly significant, Trabzonspor’s new signing still ranks below Osimhen in terms of personal status and current form.
Interestingly, while Osimhen tops the all-time top-five ranks of star players from outside Turkey whose deals were highly significant in the Super Lig, Salah is not even second to the Super Eagles’ hitman, but The Pharaohs’ captain settles in as third on the log.
A survey by Tolga Akdeniz noted that Salah’s status falls behind that of another Galatasaray icon, Gheorghe Hagi of Romania, but the Egyptian ranks ahead of yet another legend of Osimhen’s club, in Wesley Sneijder of Netherlands as well as Brazilian icon, Roberto Carlos at Fenerbahce.
Akdeniz noted, “A global superstar and one of the greatest forwards of his generation, Salah has been welcomed to Trabzon in some style, with some remarkable scenes at their stadium on Thursday. It is a staggering deal for Trabzon, and the numbers involved are eyewatering.”
However, Akdeniz points out that Salah’s status falls short of Nigeria’s 2023 African Footballer of The Year, as the writer added in part, “Victor Osimhen’s move to Galatasaray takes the top spot because it completely defied expectations for big-name players moving to the Super Lig.
“Usually, it is when they are starting to decline a little or are in the twilight of their career. With Osimhen, it was completely different. At 25 years old, Osimhen was widely recognised as one of the world’s best strikers, arriving in his prime.
“During the summer of 2024, he had been heavily linked with a move to Premier League outfit Chelsea, but a deal broke down on the final day of the window. Consequently, Galatasaray splashed a barely-believable 75 million euros to sign him, absolutely obliterating the Super Lig transfer record.
“The previous record was Youssef En-Nesyri to Fenerbahce for 20 million euros. The signing of Osimhen was unprecedented in Turkish football, made possible by an extraordinary sequence of circumstances. He continues to lead Galatasaray as their talisman and the best player in the league.”
