England Return on the Horizon

Bright  Osayi-Samuel

In spite of his stellar performance since moving to Fernabahce in 2020 from Queens Park Rangers, Super Eagles defender, Bright Osayi-Samuel has never hidden his intention to return to England at the slightest opportunity. With his contract expiring in the summer of 2025, and entitled to a pre-contract agreement with any club, the Nigerian has put Premier League clubs on red alert after rejecting new Fernabahce contract

Super Eagles right back, Bright Osayi-Samuel has sent a message about his availability to his Premier League suitors after rejecting a new deal from Fernabahce.

The 26-year-old’s contract with Fernabahce runs till the summer of 2025, meaning he’s allowed to enter into pre-contract agreements with other clubs when the transfer window opens on January 1.

The Yellow Canaries have been trying to tie the former Queens Park Rangers’ defender to a new deal but so far, an agreement between both parties are worlds apart.

According to Turkish outlet, Fanatik, Osayi-Samuel has rejected Fernabahce’s new contract offer of a net salary worth €2.5 million per annum with both parties said to be €1 million away from an agreement and, if the former Blackpool doesn’t get the offer he wants, he will leave when his contract runs out next summer.

However, three English sides are said to be interested in Osayi’s services but Crystal Palace is believed to be leading the race for him while Leeds United and Wolverhampton Wanderers have nothing concrete on the table yet.

Osayi-Samuel is currently sidelined with a foot injury and missed Fenerbahce’s Europa League home clash against Erik Ten Hag’s Manchester United on Thursday night.

The wing-back joined Fenerbahçe from QPR in 2020. Since then, he’s played 145 matches for the yellow-navy blue jersey, recording seven goals and providing 14 assists for Fenerbahce across all competitions.

After a stellar 2023/24 season with Turkish giants, Fenerbahce, he seems to have won the heart of new manager, Jose Mourinho, but returning to England has always been a dream for the Super Eagles defender. With 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, Osayi-Samuel has never hidden his desire to return to England with the likes of Southampton and Wolves waiting on the wings.

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 have 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.

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 have struggled to reach agreement on a new contract.

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

“Two Premier League teams are said to be 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 last 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.

Thirty seven 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 Pereira’s 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.