Galatasaray – The Best Transfer Window This Summer?

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At the time of writing, the summer transfer window has yet to close but some teams have already been extremely busy. Galatasaray is a good example and the Turkish club have been active in the transfer market as they aim to put the previous season behind them.

Last season, Galatasaray finished 13th in the Turkish Super Lig table. They were 29 points behind the champions, Trabzonspor which is extremely disappointing for a club of the size and history of Galatasaray.

They lost 14 of their 38 league matches, with only 5 other teams outside the relegation zone having a worst record.

Galatasaray finished with a -2 goal difference and they scored 51 goals, with over half the league scoring more goals than the former UEFA Cup winners.

Last season was simply not good enough for a club with the stature of Galatasaray and fans will be hoping for a significant improvement in the 2022/23 campaign.

This summer has seen changes behind the scenes, with the coaching staff, and the players. Dursun Özbek was elected as the new club chairman and Cenk Ergün was appointed as the Football Director. Domènec Torrent and his assistants were sacked and Okan Buruk has been named as the new manager of Galatasaray.

Moving to player transfers and Galatasaray have been active in the market. Three signings have caught the eye, with Sérgio Oliveira, Lucas Torreira, and Dries Mertens all arriving at the Nef Stadium for a combined fee of just €9,000,000. Oliveira played at Roma last season on loan from Porto and the central midfielder will be hoping to play for Portugal in the 2022 World Cup.

Torreira arrives from Arsenal having had loan spells with Atletico Madrid and Fiorentina. The midfielder is only 26 years of age, so has plenty of time to improve and will provide fantastic energy to the Galatasaray midfield this season. Torreira made 31 appearances in the league for Fiorentina last season and has a lot of experience having played in the Premier League, La Liga, and Serie A.

Mertens left Napoli this summer as a legend. The Belgian forward arrived in Naples in 2013 and scored 113 goals in Serie A. Mertens was named in the 2016/17 Serie A Team of the Year and even at the age of 35, still has plenty to offer at the top of the game.

Haris Seferovic has joined Galatasaray on loan from Benfica and is another experienced option in attack for this season. Fredrik Midtsjø, Léo Dubois, Kazımcan Karataş, and Abdülkerim Bardakcı and are the other notable additions to the Galatasaray squad for this season.

With a total outlay of just over €20,000,000, Galatasaray have added some serious talent to their squad. With no European football, this group of arrivals should help push Galatasaray back into European contention in the league this season. They may take a little time to settle but as the season progresses, expect to see Galatasaray near the top of the Turkish Super Lig.