Bright Osayi-Samuel: Torn Between England Return and Fer Stay 

After a stellar 2023/24 season with Turkish giants, Fenerbahce and seems to have won the heart of new manager, Jose Mourinho, but returning to England has always been a dream for Super Eagles defender, Bright Osayi-Samuel and with Premier League clubs, Southampton and Wolves set to cash-in on his contract situation with the Yellow Canaries, a return to English top-flight might be in the offing

Despite being fans’ favourite for his impressive form since joining Fenerbahçe from Queens Park Rangers, Bright Osayi-Samuel has never hidden his desire to return to England with the likes of Southampton and Wolves waiting in the wings. However, the Super Eagles defender’s wish may not come to pass at least for now as the Super Lig club is looking to extend the Nigerian international’s contract at the ükrü Saracolu Stadium

Bright Osayi-Samuel finds himself at the centre of transfer talks, with Fenerbahçe making significant decisions regarding his future.  According to Italian media, the Süper Lig club is looking to extend the Nigerian international’s contract at the ükrü Saracolu Stadium.

Since his move from Queens Park Rangers during the 2020-21 interim transfer period for €508,000, Osayi-Samuel has garnered praise for his performances at Fenerbahçe.

His success has reportedly caught the attention of several English clubs.

He has previously expressed his desire to return to England and play in the English Premier League, but all attempts to entice him back to England failed.

Meanwhile, with just one year remaining on his contract, Fenerbahçe has deliberated on securing Osayi-Samuel’s services for the long term.

The club, according to Aksam, plans to extend his contract and elevate his salary to bolster their position in potential transfer negotiations.

The developments around Osayi-Samuel’s contract renewal and the heightened interest from English clubs indicate a pivotal period in the player’s career as transfer talks intensify.

Osayi-Samuel has emerged as a standout player during Fenerbahce’s pre-season camp in Austria, quickly becoming a favourite of their new manager, Jose Mourinho.

The Nigerian international has impressed Mourinho with his performances, securing his spot as the first-choice right-back for the upcoming season.

During the Austrian camp, Fenerbahce played three friendly matches, and Osayi-Samuel featured prominently in all of them.

In the first game, a 1-1 draw with Admira Wacker, he played for 70 minutes and showed his defensive solidity and attacking verve.

Despite a 1-0 loss to Hajduk Split in their second match, Osayi-Samuel’s performance until his substitution in the 71st minute was noted for its energy and effectiveness.

The highlight of the camp came in Fenerbahce’s 4-0 win over Strasbourg penultimate Saturday. He was instrumental on the right wing, linking up well with former Ajax playmaker Dusan Tadic.

His performance in this match solidified his place in Mourinho’s plans, with all four goals coming in the first half while he was on the pitch.

According to Fotomac, Mourinho has penciled Osayi-Samuel as his first-choice right-back with a guaranteed spot in the starting 11.

Osayi-Samuel’s performances have been a bright spot for Fenerbahce as they gear up for the new season.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria defender is yet to agree a new contract with Fenerbahce and he has one year left on his contract with the club.

Fenerbahce are determined to keep the versatile defender but has struggled to reach agreement on a new contract.

The full-back is currently on €1.8m a year, but wants to now get €2.5m going forward.

The club views the demand as too high and as a result discussions on a new contract have now been postponed.

Fenerbahce could opt to sell Osayi-Samuel instead of losing him for free next summer.

However, following interest from Premier League sides, Southampton and Wolverhampton Wanderers, the Super Eagles defender, Bright Osayi-Samuel, has announced his decision to stay with Fenerbahçe for at least another season.

The Nigeria international’s current contract with the Turkish giants will expire in the summer of 2025 with the club at risk of losing on free should he decide against extending his contract.

The 26-year-old contract situation has seen several clubs show interest in his service with the Saints and Wolves the latest among other clubs.

Meanwhile, according to the Sports Digitale, Osayi-Samuel wants to stay with the Turkish outfit, which implies that he is not interested in leaving the club this summer.

A Premier League and a Championship team were interested in Osayi. Osayi’s side wants to stay in the team,” the publication wrote on X.

Osayi-Samuel played a key role for the Istanbul-based side as they finished second in the just concluded Süper Lig campaign with just three points separating them and champions Galatasaray.

The former Queens Parks Rangers players scored four goals and provided two assists in 23 league games.

Strong, quick, and athletic, Osayi-Samuel looks like the modern-day full-back/wing-back, but it was not until a year ago that the 26-year-old made his first appearance for the Super Eagles on November 17, playing 90 minutes in a pre-tournament friendly against Portugal who, unlike Nigeria, were then preparing to play in the World Cup.

There’s no gainsaying that as a right-back, Osayi-Samuel has got a lot in his arsenal, and these footballing abilities are no surprise to those who had watched and followed his career trajectory from his time at Blackpool and Queens Park Rangers.

The Nigeria international started his career as a pure winger who delighted in taking on his markers with his pace, trickery, and guile, little wonder his style of play as a full-back is quite reminiscent of Victor Moses in Antonio Conte’s 2016/17 English Premier League-winning squad.

Born in Okija, Nigeria, Osayi-Samuel moved to Spain at an early age before emigrating to England at 10 years of age. A product of the Blackpool academy, he broke into the first team as a teenager in 2015, playing primarily as a winger across League One, League Two and very briefly in the championship before securing a move to Championship mainstays Queen Park Rangers in September 2017.  Osayi-Samuel’s ability to dribble, create and pose a threat to opposition defences was never in doubt but the numbers have hardly been really outstanding in terms of goals and assists for the Fenerbaçhe man.

37 goals and assists in 194 appearances across the lower divisions of English football may have looked more average than world-class but it was his potential that had most likely attracted Fenerbaçhe to him as he switched to the Turkish giants in the second half of the 2020/21 season and it was just a goal and an assist to his name in a total of 19 appearances before the end of that season.

His first full season was also not very remarkable as he was only able to manage two goals and five assists in 43 appearances across all competitions. Though, the arrival of Portuguese manager, Vítor Pereira at Fenerbaçhe in the summer of 2021 occasioned a formation change to a  3-4-3 for the Turkish club with Osayi-Samuel being one of those affected by this tweak as he was made to be the right wing-back in new set-up.

“That’s not usually my position, I’ve been an out-and-out winger. He wanted me to come back as a full-back when we didn’t have the ball. He started teaching me the basics of defending, and from there I started playing as a wing-back,” Osayi-Samuel said in an interview.

The 25-year-old continued being a wing-back/full-back from then on and has established himself as a key player for Fenerbaçhe.