Enes Unal cost Manchester City just £2 million in 2015, Caglar Soyuncu went for a similar fee to Freiburg in 2016, Cengiz Under meanwhile joined Roma for £12 million over the summer.
The fact of the matter is, the Super Lig is starting to prove a higher caliber of player and they are available for a fraction of the price pound for pound as players of a similar level in Europe’s more established leagues.
So who will be the next big shot to leave the league for one of the big five leagues?
Good Question!
There are a few names on my mind. One really stands out. Okay Yosuslu.
The 1.90m tall midfielder is a fine physical specimen. A swashbuckling midfielder who likes to get stuck in but he is not all brawn. There is a sophistication to his play. Yokuslu is skilled on the ball, a very technical player with impressive dribbling ability and a tactical understanding of a player far more experienced in years.
OKAYLANDINIZ ! ?????@Besiktas @Okayokuslu pic.twitter.com/BRDVFDChRI
— Rıza Dé Lé Portaté (@trabzonbordoo) January 14, 2018
Like many of the top talents rising through the ranks in Turkey he was first spotted in Izmir – Under and Soyuncu were both from the Altinordu academy. The Aegean region is fast becoming the production belt for Turkish players.
Yokuslu was given a contract by Altay aged 12, he was breaking into the first-team aged 16. Kayserispor ended up snapping him up aged 17. It did not take long for the young midfielder to become a regular in the Super Lig.
Under the guidance of Robert Prosinecki, Kayserispor finished 5th in 2013. Their highest achievement. Okay played 24 times and was really starting to make a name for himself.
Trabzonspor snapped him up next for €2 million in 2015.
Yokuslu has really excelled this season, patrolling the Trabzonspor midfield. The Turkey international is statistically the fourth highest rated player in the league according to Whoscored.
Yokuslu has won more duals (227) and aerial duals (105) than any other player in the league.
As I touched upon above, it would be unfair to simply label Yokuslu a defensive midfield bruiser.
He has great qualities with a defensive midfielder tasked with closing down the opposition and disrupting play.
Yokuslu can play as a destroyer but for a player who looks so cumbersome, he is excellent on the ball. A deep-lying playmaker. His pass range is impressive, completing on average 57 a game at 80 percent accuracy.
The midfielder makes his presence felt. The type of player that can become the backbone of a team. A multi-faceted player ideal for the demands of the modern game.
He is not the quickest
Yokuslu’s form has not gone unnoticed.
A source close to the player informed me that clubs he asked not to mention from Germany, Italy and Spain are keeping tabs on him.
It is not difficult to see why. The Premier League and Bundesliga would probably be best suited to a player with the raw power Yokuslu possesses.
Trabzonspor value Yokuslu as being worth €8 million. At that price he would be a steal for the Baggies.
The midfield maestro has been whipping up a storm on the Black Sea coast. The Trabzonspor ace has been flying under the radar for years and does not get the kind of coverage he would have had he joined one of the major Istanbul clubs.
Yokuslu turned down the glitz and glam to knuckle down and perfect his game. In Turkish they say ‘pişti’ which roughly translates to he has to cook. A metaphor for a raw player being thrown into the footballing frying pan alongside the ingredients required for him to cook and become the finished article. Yokuslu is out of the frying pan. He is ready for the next challenge.
