Hull City owner Acun Ilıcalı has openly praised Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen, describing the Galatasaray star as the best foreign player currently playing in the Turkish Süper Lig, Soccernet.ng reports.
However, despite his admiration, the Turkish businessman admitted that bringing Osimhen or other top players from Turkey to the Premier League has become increasingly difficult because of soaring transfer fees and player salaries.
Ilıcalı, who previously served as vice-president of Fenerbahçe, made the comments during an interview with Transfermarkt via Haberler while discussing the growing quality of the Turkish top flight. Hull City recently secured promotion back to the Premier League after winning the Championship play-off final, but the club is not expected to make a move for Nigeria’s biggest football star.
Osimhen remains one of the hottest names in the transfer market. The Super Eagles striker has repeatedly been linked with Premier League giants Chelsea and Manchester United, while several other top European clubs continue to monitor his situation.
When asked to identify the standout players in the Turkish league, Ilıcalı had no hesitation in naming Osimhen as the league’s finest foreign footballer. For the best domestic player, he selected experienced goalkeeper Uğurcan Çakır.
Osimhen is the most valuable player in the Turkish Süper Lig and is also the highest-paid footballer in the country.
Osimhen and rising Turkish football finances
While Ilıcalı admires Osimhen’s qualities, he admitted that convincing players to leave the Turkish league has become far more complicated than it was just a few years ago because of the financial strength of the country’s biggest clubs.
Responding to whether Hull City could recruit players from the Süper Lig, Ilıcalı explained:
“The increase in the quality of the Süper Lig has made it quite difficult for us to transfer players from there. If it were 5 years ago, I knew I could easily bring 3-4 players from Turkey to the Premier League.
“However, today’s transfer fees and player salaries are far above those of that period. The most striking point is that the financial conditions provided by the three big clubs in Turkey to their players have now surpassed even the amounts paid by mid and lower-table teams in the Premier League.”
Turkish football has indeed changed in recent seasons. Clubs like Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe and Beşiktaş have invested heavily in established international stars, making it much harder for English clubs outside the Premier League’s elite to compete financially.
Osimhen has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of that growth. After initially arriving at Galatasaray on loan in September 2024 following a high-profile transfer dispute with Napoli, he quickly became one of the club’s greatest modern heroes.
During the 2024/25 campaign, he scored 37 goals and registered eight assists in 41 appearances across all competitions, helping Galatasaray win both the Süper Lig title and the Turkish Cup. He also broke Mario Jardel’s 24-year record for the most goals scored by a foreign player in a single season for the club, finished as the league’s Golden Boot winner with 26 goals, and was named Player of the Season.
His performances convinced Galatasaray to complete a permanent €75 million transfer in the summer of 2025. The Nigerian striker continued his outstanding form during the 2025/26 season, contributing 22 goals and eight assists in 33 matches as the Istanbul giants secured another league title.
Across two remarkable seasons, Osimhen has produced 59 goals and 16 assists in 74 appearances while winning two Süper Lig titles and one Turkish Cup. His famous protective face mask has also become a major commercial success, helping Galatasaray generate significant revenue through merchandise and ticket sales.
Galatasaray have reportedly placed a €150 million valuation on their prized striker.
