Ranking every ex-Premier League player in Turkey by how right it feels | OneFootball

Former Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah has made one of the most eyebrow-raising moves of the summer by signing for Turkish Super Lig outfit Trabzonspor.

Salah’s move has inspired us to fire up Transfermarkt and browse the squad lists of every club in the Turkish top flight. As always, there are some sensational blasts from the past.

We’ve taken a look at every former Premier League player in the Turkish Super Lig and ranked them in order of how much it feels right.

29. Mason Greenwood

In one sense, it’s very weird for a once much-hyped Manchester United academy graduate and England international, who only recently won a Golden Boot in Ligue 1, to be playing for Fenerbahce at the age of 24.

But we all know why that is. Out of the public eye is the best place for him.

28. Sofyan Amrabat

It freaks our nut that Amrabat is not yet 30.

We could’ve sworn he was a grizzled veteran by the time he spent that loan at Manchester United. But he was actually at his peak age.

In light of that, it is a bit odd that he’s turning out in the relative obscurity of the Turkish Super Lig in his prime. Particularly when you think of his all-action displays in Morocco’s run to the World Cup semi-finals in Qatar. He looked destined for something a bit more box office.

27. Wilfred Ndidi

There was a point during Ndidi’s Leicester heyday when it felt inevitable he’d end up at one of the Premier League’s ‘big six’, playing Champions League football year after year.

For one reason or another, that move never materialised, and his career trajectory mirrored Leicester’s slide from FA Cup winners to a shambolic yo-yo club.

Five or six years ago, Besiktas would’ve felt like a move for the twilight of his career, not one he’d make before turning 30.

26. Mohamed Salah

It was only the season before last that Salah was quite literally producing output never before seen in Premier League history, inspiring Liverpool to only their second league title of the modern era.

We’d never have believed that in 2026 he’d be turning out for Trabzonspor, gearing up for Europa League play-offs before the first international break of the season.

Jamie Carragher reckons he had the quality to play for a European heavyweight like AC Milan or Juventus, and we’d struggle to argue otherwise.

But with Trabzonspor reportedly putting Saudi-level wages on the table, the appeal becomes obvious.

25. Diego Carlos

We were always left with a frustrating sense that the Brazilian defender wasn’t the player he should’ve been for Aston Villa, so it was no great shock when he jumped ship to Fenerbahce midway through the season before last.

Last season he was loaned out to Como and played his part in them qualifying for the Champions League. We’ll see if he sticks around at his parent club or rejoins Cesc Fabregas’ side.

24. Davinson Sanchez

The Colombian arguably shouldn’t be spending his prime years in Turkey, but it felt like a natural enough destination after his time at Tottenham ran its course.

The weirdest thing was him briefly turning into prime Ronaldinho.

23. Emmanuel Agbadou

One of those latter-day, relegation-plughole era Wolves signings that felt like a regen. He played Premier League football last season, but you already can’t remember a thing about him, can you?

And so it feels about right that the Ivory Coast international centre-back is now turning out for Besiktas.

22. Milot Rashica

The Kosovo international winger scored one Premier League goal in his one full season at Norwich City, back in one of their yo-yo spells under Daniel Farke.

He’s since played over a hundred times in the Super Lig with Galatasaray and Besiktas, winning a league title with the former and a Turkish Cup with the latter. Sounds about right.

21. N’Golo Kante

Surely one of the top five footballers to have spent their twilight years in Turkey. Up there with Robin van Persie, Didier Drogba and Roberto Carlos.

The difference here is that Kante’s move to Fenerbahce went a bit unnoticed after two and a half seasons out in the footballing wilderness of the Saudi Pro League. This one would’ve felt a lot more right had he moved directly from Chelsea.

20. John Lundstram

Lundstram and Salah in the same team?

Memories of the 2019-20 FPL season are flooding back. Halcyon days.

19. Dan Agyei

Burnley, Oxford United, Crewe Alexandra, Leyton Orient…

…”Kocaelispor”?

Great stuff.

18. Andre Onana

“You wanna tell me in six months the best goalkeeper of the Champions League last season became the worst in the world? No.”

And here he is, spending a second straight season on loan at Trabzonspor.

17. Alex Matos

Who?

One-time Chelsea youth prospect Matos made one Premier League appearance, an injury-time substitute cameo in a 2-0 win over Fulham, back in October 2023.

He’s now on Sheffield United’s books and will spend the 2026-27 campaign on loan at Gotzepe. Sure, why not?

16. Leroy Sane

Sane looked like a world-beater in the making in his early years with Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.

We’d never have believed then that he’d have been in the Super Lig before his 30th birthday.

He’s not terrible by any means, but it was a bit jarring to see him still starting for Germany at the World Cup.

15. Paul Onuachu

We’ve quite enjoyed the manner in which the giant striker has flitted between the Prem and Super Lig. He signed for Southampton midway through their doomed 2022-23 relegation campaign.

He subsequently spent their subsequent promotion-winning campaign out on loan at Trabzonspor, before returning to endure one of the most miserable Premier League seasons in recent history.

Onuachu returned to Trabzonspor permanently last summer, and went on to win the Golden Boot at the expense of Victor Osimhen.

14. Ederson

You could argue that six-time Premier League winner Ederson had another few years at Europe’s elite, but Fenerbahce always felt like the sort of club he’d end up at eventually.

He just got there ahead of schedule.

13. Matteo Guendouzi

There was enough tenacity and bite to disguise his limitations, with Arsenal fans briefly talking themselves into believing he was the club’s long-term midfield answer during their banter era.

Obviously, he’s playing for Fenerbahce nowadays.

12. Lucas Torreira

There was enough tenacity and bite to disguise his limitations, with Arsenal fans briefly talking themselves into believing he was the club’s long-term midfield answer during their banter era.

Obviously, he’s playing for Galatasaray nowadays.

11. Mario Lemina

Turns out this is Lemina’s second stint with Galatasaray, having spent a season on loan from Southampton back in 2019-20.

A 32-year-old Lemina back at Galatasaray makes perfect sense. Wearing the No. 99 shirt, on the other hand, is another matter entirely.

10. Cengiz Under

Under has played over 50 times for the Turkey national team. Obviously it’s no surprise he’s out there.

Our surprise is that he’s a former Premier League player. We have absolutely no recollection of his season-long loan to Leicester City back in 2020-21.

That might be because he made one start, played 275 minutes in total, and scored a grand total of zero goals.

9. Juninho Bacuna

A member of Huddersfield Town’s short-lived Premier League stint.

Playing for Gaziantep eight years later has a sort of Football Manager inevitability about it. The real surprise twist was playing in a World Cup with Curacao.

8. Leandro Trossard

The timing is pretty much perfect, isn’t it?

Left as a Premier League champion. Dropped down the pecking order. A chance to secure one last major contract. Nobody really raised an eyebrow when it happened.

7. Fred

Internacional to Shakhtar Donetsk to Manchester United to Fenerbahce. How very 21st century.

We miss Fred and his smiley face.  Manchester United’s loss was Fenerbahce’s gain.

6. Stefan Savic

Twelve appearances in Manchester City’s 2011-12 title-winning campaign feels like a footnote in comparison to Savic’s near decade-long stint as one of Diego Simeone’s dogs of war at Atletico Madrid.

A wonderfully satisfying career path, exactly the sort we’d envisaged if we dreamt up an alternate life as a hard-nosed Balkan centre-back. Now he’s captaining Salah, reunited with his old Fiorentina team-mate.

5. Ilkay Gundogan

As with his former Germany team-mate Mesut Ozil, it’s no surprise that Gundogan opted to see out his playing days in the motherland.

“I was born and raised in Germany, but I love my Turkishness and my roots very much,” he told Turkish newspaper Fanatik.

“I started football at 3.5 years old with my brother. My whole family are Galatasaray fans, and I grew up in that spirit.

“I never hid my affection for the club, even during my career abroad. Whether in Germany, Spain, or England, I always saw Galatasaray fans in the stadium. Right now, there are hundreds of fans outside our hotel.”

Fair play.

4. Mbaye Diagne

Sam Allardyce’s relegation-bound, behind-closed-doors 2020-21 West Brom squad was pure Turkish Super Lig.

Branislav Ivanovic, Cedric Kipre, Ahmed Hegazi, Grady Diangana, Kenneth Zohore, Kyle Bartley, Kieran Gibbs… Hang on, none of those players ever actually played in Turkey, somehow. You’d have believed us if we said they all had, though, wouldn’t you?

Senegalese striker Diagne scored three Premier League goals in his half-season stint, on loan from – of course – Galatasaray.

Stints since then have included Fatih Karagumruk and Saudi Pro League outfits Al-Qadsiah and Neom before a return to Turkey with lesser-known Amedspor.

Cut him and he bleeds the Super Lig.

3. Okay Yokuslu

Speaking of Big Sam’s Baggies.

Yokuslu is gearing up for his third season with Trabzonspor after a couple of seasons slumming it in the Championship with West Brom. Course he is.

2. Nathan Ake

The only weird thing about this one is that it didn’t happen sooner.

We could’ve sworn Ake to Fenerbahce happened a year ago. The BBC gossip columns are infecting our dreams, apparently.

1. Nelson Semedo

Benfica, Barcelona, Wolves, Fenerbahce.