Turkish football pundit Emre Bol has claimed Victor Osimhen’s return could once again mask Galatasaray’s squad weaknesses after the Super Eagles striker missed their heavy defeat to Trabzonspor, Footynaija.com reports.
Galatasaray suffered a 4-0 loss at Papara Park on Saturday, September 19, with Osimhen watching from the sidelines as he continues his recovery from a groin injury.
The Nigerian striker picked up the injury during the club’s 3-2 victory over Istanbul Basaksehir earlier this month and has since been undergoing individual rehabilitation.
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His absence against Trabzonspor coincided with a difficult outing for Okan Buruk’s side, prompting Bol to question whether Osimhen’s performances have previously concealed problems within the Turkish champions’ squad.
“Osimhen is coming, and you know what he’ll do again? He’ll sweep all of Galatasaray’s problems under the rug,” Bol said in comments relayed by Sports Digital Platform.
“That’s the kind of guy Osimhen is—he didn’t show you that you’ve built a flawed squad. Got it?
“With the goals he scored, the performances he delivered, the guy single-handedly carried how many matches—Osimhen took them all, crunching through every game..
“So people look and say: ‘Nah, our team’s good and all,’ and you see it, you think it. But in Osimhen’s absence, we’ve actually seen just how massive the gap in the team really is.”
Bol’s comments come against the backdrop of Galatasaray’s record when Osimhen has been unavailable.
During the 25/26 season, the Turkish champions dropped 16 points across the 11 league matches the Nigerian missed, while they collected just four points from a possible nine during his initial absence from the title run-in.
His absence was also felt in cup competitions, with Galatasaray struggling to provide a consistent attacking threat during their Turkish Super Cup defeat to Fenerbahce and later suffering a shock Turkish Cup exit to Genclerbirligi.
Osimhen had made an impressive start to the 26/27 campaign before his injury, scoring six goals and providing two assists in his opening four league appearances.
