Dursun: Osimhen Not Suited for Barcelona
Fresh doubt has been cast on Victor Osimhen’s suitability for Barcelona, with former Fenerbahce striker Serdar Dursun arguing that the Super Eagles forward lacks the technical polish demanded by the Catalan club’s possession-based system, even as he continues to acknowledge the Nigerian’s undoubted quality.
Dursun raised the concern on the Cup Diary programme on Spor Smart, in comments that have added another layer to the swirling speculation around Osimhen’s future. “I don’t think Osimhen can play for Barcelona. Osimhen is a talented player, but he doesn’t have a clean technique,” he said, as quoted by the Turkish outlet Fanatik. The former Turkish international’s verdict lands at a delicate moment, with Barcelona reportedly weighing a move for Argentina forward Julian Alvarez ahead of the Nigerian, a development that has only deepened the uncertainty over where Osimhen will play next season.
The scrutiny arrives on the back of another commanding campaign in Istanbul. According to PUNCH Sports Extra, Osimhen closed the 2025/2026 season with 22 goals and eight assists across all competitions, a return that helped Galatasaray successfully defend their Super Lig title. Publicly available records from the season show the striker delivered 15 league goals and five assists in 22 appearances, supplemented by a haul of seven goals in the UEFA Champions League, where the Yellow and Reds reached the knockout rounds before their exit.
His contribution to the title race was decisive in the closing stretch. Osimhen scored the opener in a 3-0 win over city rivals Fenerbahce on his return from injury in late April, then struck twice in a 4-2 comeback victory over Antalyaspor on 9 May that sealed Galatasaray’s 26th Turkish league crown, their fourth in succession. That triumph, achieved only twice before in the competition’s history, was marked by a reception for the squad at the Presidential Complex in Ankara.
Osimhen’s standing in Turkish football is difficult to overstate. He joined Galatasaray on a permanent deal from Napoli in the summer of 2025 for a net fee of 75 million euros, the highest transfer outlay in the history of the Turkish game, after an initial loan spell. During the campaign he became only the second Nigerian, after Yakubu Aiyegbeni, to score a Champions League hat-trick, netting three times in a 3-0 away win over Ajax on 5 November, a result that also lifted him above Obafemi Martins as Nigeria’s all-time leading scorer in European club competition. On 24 January, he became the fastest player in Galatasaray’s history to reach 50 goals for the club.
The season was not without setback. Osimhen sustained a forearm injury in March during a Champions League tie against Liverpool, with fears of an ulna fracture, and spent a spell on the sidelines before returning in the Fenerbahce derby. That he still finished among the club’s most influential performers speaks to the resilience that has defined much of his career, from his breakthrough at Lille and his record move to Napoli, where he won the Serie A top scorer award, to his current status as one of the most sought-after strikers in Europe.
That reputation explains the crowded field now tracking his signature. Alongside Barcelona, reports have linked Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United and Chelsea with the 27-year-old, whose next destination remains one of the summer transfer window’s more compelling subplots. With pre-season preparations approaching, the former Napoli forward is expected to offer some clarity on his intentions in the coming weeks.
For now, opinions such as Dursun’s will do little to settle the debate. Osimhen’s goal record over the past two seasons in Turkey suggests a striker at the peak of his powers, while the questions raised about his technical fit at a specific club underline how style, system and profile, rather than raw output alone, often shape the biggest transfer decisions in modern football.