Galatasaray professional Aktürkoğlu does not rule out a change in the Transfermarkt interview

Galatasaray professional in an interview

Galatasaray’s Kerem Aktürkoğlu has developed rapidly over the past three years and his market value has climbed from 200,000 to 17 million euros. The right-footed player is the best assist provider in Europe in 2023 with 19 assists in 40 games and the 25-year-old recently demonstrated his international class again with a goal in the 3-2 “Cimboms” triumph at Old Trafford. Before the Champions League game at FC Bayern (Wednesday, from 9 p.m. in the TM live ticker), Aktürkoğlu spoke to Transfermarkt about his career path, personal goals with the club and national team and a possible move abroad.

Turkey legend Arda Turan, now coach at second division club Eyüpspor, praised the 24-time national player as one of the greatest footballing hopes for the “Crescent Stars”. With a view to Aktürkoğlu’s development, TM expert Lara Karacan (Content Lead Transfermarkt.tr) attests to “a story straight out of a picture book – in 2020 he was still playing in the 3rd league, today he is a central part of Galatasaray and the game Turkish national team.”

Aktürkoğlu, who described Turan’s comments in an interview with TM as a “great honor”, sums up the past three years as follows: “When I look back on my career, from Erzincanspor to the games in the Champions League now, I am proud on what I have achieved. My family and my trainers obviously played a big part in this. I’m the type of player who is constantly trying to get better. I believe the training never ends and you can always add more.”

Games like against FC Bayern or Manchester United are “important milestones in my career that show that I am up to this level,” said the Turk, who was voted player of the season in the Süper Lig in 2022 by TM users. Accordingly, he also has great ambitions for the future: “My goal is to exploit my potential even more in the Champions League and at the 2024 European Championship in Germany,” says Aktürkoğlu.

The 1.73 meter tall offensive force has twelve scorers in 20 games across all competitions this season. The fact that Gala coach Okan Buruk recently allowed the winger to play regularly in the center was “a challenge” for him. But “I believe that in this role I can have a lot of influence on the game and express my creativity, although it also means that I have to adapt my game and develop further.”

Aktürkoğlu, who trained at the Istanbul club Basaksehir, held the number 10 position at youth level until he was 16 years old, and was only then retrained as a wing player due to his speed. “Together with Mauro Icardi, he is the most important player in Galatasaray’s attack and is always a dynamic factor with his fast dribbling,” said Karacan.

Aktürkoğlu has long been a long-time favorite on the Bosporus and was in action for 1,579 minutes in 2023/24, more than any other attacker at his club (Galatasaray’s long-time favorites). This makes it all the more important for him to regenerate between games so that he can consistently deliver his top performances: “I think about that a lot. I try out a lot of things so that I can always perform 100 percent in this number of games with few breaks. Being a professional footballer is a 24-hour job! In order to consistently play at such a high level, I believe that the phases off the pitch are very important for my further development.

Galatasaray’s Aktürkoğlu: “Moving abroad could be exciting”

It is hardly surprising that Aktürkoğlu is on the notebooks of numerous clubs beyond Turkey’s borders. FC Bayern is said to be keeping an eye on him in 2021, as are other Bundesliga clubs. Last summer, Lazio Rome was said to be very interested, and in recent weeks there have been rumors about a possible move to the Premier League (including Tottenham). The professional, whose contract on the Bosphorus runs until 2026, explains when asked about the speculation:

“Of course I’m thinking about my future. A move abroad could be exciting to take on new challenges and play in other leagues. But right now I’m concentrating on Galatasaray and my performance here. Everything else will become apparent over time. If a change were an option, I would choose a league that suits my style of play and where I can develop further.”

Karacan believes he can “take the next step in a top league”, “he definitely has the potential.” His goal celebration has become a kind of trademark of the avowed Harry Potter fan, in which he alludes to the protagonist of the game worldwide successful young adult novel and film series always waves the imaginary magic wand. T-shirts with the print “Kerem Aktürkoğlu – Expelliarmus” have long been a bestseller among Galatasaray fans.

In the Potter books, Expelliarmus is a so-called disarming spell – if the 25-year-old has his way, he and his team want to disarm FC Bayern on Wednesday evening in the Allianz Arena and give Munich their first points in the Champions League group phase since 2020 wrest off. Overall, the German record champions have been unbeaten in group games since September 2017 or 37 games (see Bayern’s record).

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