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Done dealUpdated 08:51 UK · 2 Sept

Deniz Gül to Galatasaray
Porto sell rising Turkey striker

FC PortoFC PortoGalatasarayGalatasarayFee€10mReliability100%
The story so far
  1. 1 Sept
    Deal confirmed
    Galatasaray officially announced the transfer, disclosing a fee of 10 million euros plus 1 million in bonuses on a five-year contract.
  2. 1 Sept · 12:15
    Arrives in Istanbul
    Gül landed in Istanbul on the afternoon of 1 September to undergo a medical before signing.

The move in full

Galatasaray have completed the signing of Turkey international striker Deniz Gül from FC Porto on a five-year deal worth up to €11m, adding depth behind Victor Osimhen.

Galatasaray have signed striker Deniz Gül from FC Porto in a deal announced on 1 September 2026. The Turkish club's official statement, backed by a filing to Turkey's Capital Markets Board, confirmed a package worth 10 million euros in guaranteed payments to Porto, with a further 1 million euros available in performance bonuses. Porto have kept a 10 percent sell-on clause on any future transfer profit. Gül has signed a five-year contract running from the 2026-27 season, on a guaranteed net salary of around 1.5 million euros a year, making him one of the more significant additions of Galatasaray's summer business.

The 22-year-old was born in Stockholm to a Turkish father and a Swedish mother, and stands close to 1.90 metres tall. He joined Porto from Swedish side Hammarby in August 2024 for a reported fee in the region of 4.5 to 5 million euros, so the Portuguese club have made a healthy profit on him inside two years.

Galatasaray wanted him as attacking depth and rotation behind Victor Osimhen, having lost Mauro Icardi from their forward options over the summer. Gül's Turkish passport also helps manager Okan Buruk with squad registration rules that reward domestic-trained players, and the deal fits a pattern of Galatasaray blending marquee signings with promising young talent rather than relying solely on the transfer market's biggest names. Gül flew into Istanbul on the afternoon of 1 September to undergo a medical before signing, and told reporters at the airport that a childhood dream was coming true and that he wanted to get started as soon as possible.

For Porto, it is the loss of a player who was a regular part of a title-winning squad. Gül made 44 appearances in all competitions in 2025-26, scoring seven goals and setting up two more as Porto won the Primeira Liga, with five of those league goals coming from 29 appearances. The Portuguese club's decision to sell was made easier by their move to bring in Mexico striker Santiago Giménez on loan from AC Milan, with an option to buy, which gave them a replacement option at centre-forward.

Gül has also broken into Turkey's senior side. He scored in a 2-2 away draw against Spain in World Cup qualifying in November, one of five caps he won in 2025, and he was named in Turkey's squad for the 2026 World Cup finals in June. That international form, alongside his club output at Porto, is part of why Galatasaray moved to secure him now rather than risk his valuation rising further before the World Cup.

Physically, Gül is closer to a target man than a poacher: strong in the air, hard-working and combative, rather than a prolific finisher so far in his career. That profile points to him starting out at Galatasaray as an option to bring off the bench or rotate in for Osimhen, rather than an immediate replacement in the starting XI. How much game time he gets will depend on Okan Buruk's rotation choices across a season that includes the Süper Lig, the Champions League and the Turkish Cup, all of which will put a heavy load on Galatasaray's forward line.

What it does to the model

Galatasaray now have a genuine rotation option at centre-forward behind Victor Osimhen, which changes who might start or come off the bench as the season wears on and affects the goal threat and chances created when Osimhen rests. Bawler's ratings for both clubs are built from what happens on the pitch, so this squad change will feed into those numbers gradually as Gül actually plays minutes for Galatasaray and Porto adjust without him.

How this is scored100%
  • Announced by the clubs100

A sourcing score, not a chance of completion: it grades how solid the reporting behind the move is. The stage and the evidence come from the sources listed below; the arithmetic is fixed in code, the same for every deal.

Sources

Related: Galatasaray team page · All transfersGalatasaray — every match prediction

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