In a highly active transfer period, Galatasaray’s management traveled to Italy for the transfer of Nicola Zalewski. Despite reaching an agreement with Roma, bad news arrived for the yellow-red club. Here are the details…
After making a huge splash in both Turkish and world football with the transfer of Victor Osimhen, Galatasaray turned its focus to reinforcing the wings following Kerem Aktürkoğlu’s departure.
MANAGEMENT TRAVELED TO ITALY
Galatasaray’s management made a move to Italy for Nicola Zalewski, who plays for Roma.
Renowned journalist Gianluca Di Marzio reported the latest developments for Galatasaray, who had been negotiating in Rome for a while.
AGREEMENT WITH ROMA, BUT…
The report stated that Galatasaray had largely reached an agreement with Roma, but Nicola Zalewski expressed his desire to stay with the team.
Following this, Galatasaray put the transfer on hold and began focusing on alternative targets. It was reported that Galatasaray is now considering Mario Rui from Napoli and Fodé Ballo-Touré from Milan.
KORAY DURKAL: MOURINHO’S IMPACT ON ZALEWSKI
At just 22 years old, Zalewski’s longest time under a coach at AS Roma was under the current Fenerbahçe coach, José Mourinho. The Polish player played 90 games for Roma under Mourinho and won the Conference League with the Portuguese coach.
HIGHLY EFFECTIVE ON SET-PIECES
Zalewski underwent a transformation under Mourinho, learning to play both defensively and offensively. Capable of playing both as a left-back and left winger, Zalewski was seen as a key figure in Galatasaray’s potential shift to a 3-5-2 formation. One of Zalewski’s underrated strengths is his ability on set-pieces. Taking charge of set-pieces for Roma, the young star has made significant progress in this area over the past three years.
LOST SOME SHINE IN THE PAST YEAR, BUT…
However, positional changes have caused a decline in his performance over the last year. Starting as a number 10 and later evolving into a left-winger and left-back, Zalewski has lost some of his shine recently. Roma has had internal debates about whether he should stay or go for this reason. Nevertheless, Zalewski managed to break into the top 20 in the ‘Golden Boy Awards’ for two consecutive years and remains a player with great potential in open play, particularly with his quick direction changes, making him a perfect fit for Galatasaray’s needs.
