Galatasaray – The Winners of the Window

The 2019 Summer window shut this week, with the prominent deals mostly taking place back in early July.

And normally one would associate transfers later in the window with previous panic buys, Andy Carroll to Liverpool for £35 million being a prime example.

But Turkish giants Galatasaray, who decided to act primarily in the dusk of the window, managed to win it in some style.

In terms of value for money and experience, however these players play, the Istanbul outfit can consider it a successful and safe outlay, investing in a good balance of experience and youth and taking good advantage of the loan system.

So who have the 2000 UEFA Cup winners brought in, and what impact could they have in the capital and on Super Lig?

Christian LUYINDAMA

Their only major outlay in this window, Luyindama cost the Lions €5 million from Belgian side Standard Liege. Not having the biggest reputation in the camp, the Congolese international made 11 appearances on loan for Galatasaray last season.

Before that he featured over 50 times for Standard Liege, and being only 25, has plenty of time to improve in a side on the up.

He was linked with the likes of Aston Villa this summer, but after a good spell last year in Turkey it was clear that Luyindama would be going to the Turk Telekom Arena.

A solid 7/10 from me.

Jean-Michael SERI

The Premier League, especially those at Craven Cottage, got excited last season after the surprise £35m move of Seri to Fulham from Nice.

A man linked with Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, it seemed intriguing that he would choose to Craven Cottage over Catalonia.

Seri failed to impress on a consistent basis in Fulham white though, and has joined on a season-long loan deal. A great deal for a player who could still reignite his world class potential at just 27. An 8/10.

Mario LEMINA

Another who flattered to deceive on English shores, Lemina was a coup when he arrived at Southampton from Juventus back in 2017.

He has shown glimpses now and then of his undeniable power and class but failed to portray it on a consistent basis, thus leading to his loan out this season. He was heavily linked with a big money move to Manchester United alongside this.

After joining on a season-long loan, the Gabon man should dominate the Super Lig alongside Seri and the next man on this list, which is a midfield three which could probably play for most sides across Europe. 8/10.

Steven N’ZONZI

Yet another on the shortlists of major European clubs just last season, N’Zonzi has joined on, you guessed it, a season long-loan from Roma; the same side who paid €30 million for him last summer.

The Lions snapped him up on a cheap loan deal and, alongside with Lemina and Seri, should compete in the group stages of the Champions League this season, potentially aiming to shock the likes of Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid

A class signing this from the Istanbul giants. 10/10.

Radamel FALCAO

Earlier this decade you would struggle to find a more clinical finisher than the Colombian meteorite who hit the Estadio de Dragao and the Vicente Calderon.

Falcao was a demon in front of goal, which allowed Monaco to sign an obscene cheque to nab him from Diego Simeone at Atletico Madrid and take him to the Millionaires’ playground.

Since a plaguing injury and disasterclass in United red and Chelsea blue, he has been banging them in for Monaco and starred in a run which saw them reach the UEFA Champions League Semi-Final in 2017.

And by joining on a free, and hoping he can stay injury free, Galatasaray will believe they have struck gold here. 9/10.

Ryan BABEL

Experienced Dutch international Babel joins on a free after a fruitful spell alongside the aforementioned Jean-Michael Seri at Craven Cottage.

The powerful winger-come-striker has already had spells in Turkey with Kasımpaşa and Istanbul rivals Besiktas, scoring 22 goals in 62 games for the Black Eagles before hitting five in 14 for Fulham.

He’s already off the mark for his new club, having bagged two goals against Konyaspor home and away respectively. He’s already looking like an inspired signing. 9/10.

Florin ANDONE

Things didn’t really go to plan for Andone in his first spell at Brighton and Hove Albion.

Coming with a big reputation from Deportivo La Coruna, the Romanian international only hit six goals in 30 appearances, including one in the Seagulls’ three-nil thrashing of Watford at Vicarage Road.

However, there is scope for Andone to return and with regular football he could prove a different beast in the Super Lig. I’m going for a 6/10, a good deal for both parties.

THE REST

I wouldn’t want this to go on for too long, so I decided to compress the rest of Galatasaray’s summer recruits into a short paragraph at the end.

In terms of youngsters, Emre Mor arrived from Celta Vigo on a season long-loan, and Nigerian youth international Valentine Ozornwafor joined from Enyimba Aba for €300k.

Other free deals included winger Jimmy Durmaz from Toulouse, ‘keeper Okan Kocuk from Bursaspor, Sener Ozbayrakli from Fenerbahce, Adem Buyuk from Malatyaspor and Taylan Antalyali from Erzurumspor.

Even after bringing in all of these big names and shortlisted stars across Europe, the Lions only spent just under €10 million in the 2019 summer window. Truly refreshing business.