Osimhen’s Return Targeted as Buruk Faces Sack Threat at Galatasaray

Buruk Faces Sack Threat as Galatasaray Await Osimhen’s Return

The pressure is building at Galatasaray — and fast. A 2-1 defeat to Trabzonspor has cut the Turkish giants’ Süper Lig lead to just one point, and now a prominent pundit is publicly warning that coach Okan Buruk’s job is on the line.

“If Galatasaray fails to win the Göztepe and Kocaelispor matches, Okan Buruk will be sacked,” Turkish pundit Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı said bluntly. “This is Galatasaray.”

The timing could not be worse. Victor Osimhen, the man who drove the club’s double-winning season last year with 12 goals in 19 league outings, is sidelined with a forearm fracture sustained in a collision with Ibrahima Konaté. Galatasaray have lost five matches during his absence this season.

The hope is a return for the Fenerbahçe derby on April 26. That is the target. But first, the next two league games must be won without him.

The bond between Osimhen and Buruk runs deeper than football. The coach convinced the Nigerian with a promise to be more than a manager — a father figure. Osimhen chose Galatasaray partly because of that conversation.

Now Buruk needs Osimhen back. And Galatasaray need both of them.