The 2025-26 Turkish Super Lig season kicks off with a distinctly Nigerian flavour: four familiar faces to be exact.
Victor Osimhen, Paul Onuachu, Henry Onyekuru, and Anthony Nwakaeme are all set to grace the pitch, each with enough firepower to keep opposition defenders awake at night.
And if history is anything to go by, Turkey’s top flight knows what these men can do.
Nwakaeme reloaded and the return of Onyekuru
Henry Onyekuru is no stranger to the Bosphorus breeze.
With three loan spells at Galatasaray and another at Adana Demirspor, the winger has already racked up 28 goals in 83 Super Lig appearances.
After a two-year sabbatical in Saudi Arabia with Al-Fayha, the 28-year-old is back, now wearing the red and black of Gençlerbirliği.
Still quick, still crafty, and still with an eye for goal, Onyekuru will fancy adding to his tally.
Then there’s Anthony Nwakaeme, Nigeria’s second-highest scorer in Turkish top-flight history. The veteran forward has 42 goals in 141 matches for Trabzonspor, trailing only the late Isaac Promise’s 65 strikes across 11 seasons.
But at 36, Nwakaeme’s pace has ebbed and injuries have crept in. Last term, he managed just a single league goal. For all his experience, it’s unlikely he will be chasing the Golden Boot this time.
Which leaves us with the main event; Osimhen vs Onuachu.
The reigning king: Victor Osimhen
Victor Osimhen enters the season as the man to beat.
Last year, the Nigerian striker stormed into Turkey on loan from Napoli and promptly tore the league apart: 26 goals, a Golden Boot, and the small matter of firing Galatasaray to a third straight league title. One of those goals even took home the award for the season’s best strike.
This summer, Gala pulled off the transfer coup of the century, making Osimhen’s stay permanent with a record-breaking deal.
But while the 26-year-old will still be the focal point in attack, there’s a twist: Mauro Icardi is back from injury. With the Argentine likely to share the front line, Osimhen’s goal tally may dip. If you can call 20+ goals a dip.
The challenger: Paul Onuachu
Paul Onuachu has already shown Turkish defenders he’s not here for sightseeing.
His loan spell at Trabzonspor in 2023-24 produced 17 league goals, prompting the Black Sea Storm to mount an all-out campaign to sign him permanently. Southampton refused then but finally relented this summer.
Now settled in Trabzon with his family and leading the line for a team built to feed him chances, Onuachu has all the makings of a 20-goal season.
The former Genk star's CV includes top scorer honours in both Denmark and Belgium and he’s already off the mark this campaign, netting the decisive goal in last week’s 1-0 win over Kocaelispor.
Osimhen vs Onuachu: Two titans, one crown
This isn’t to say Onyekuru won’t chip in or Nwakaeme won’t produce a nostalgic masterclass.
But when it comes to the race for the Golden Boot, logic – and last season’s evidence – point towards a Nigerian head-to-head between Osimhen and Onuachu.
The reigning champion versus the well-armed challenger. The relentless goal machine of Istanbul versus the towering target man of Trabzon.
If you’re a defender in the Turkish Super Lig, brace yourself. Nigeria’s finest are about to make this one long, sleepless season.
And that’s not an opinion. That’s a fact.
