A year ago, they were three of the main faces of Serie A. Today, Romelu Lukaku, Dusan Vlahovic and Rafael Leao are facing a scenario that would have been unthinkable just a few months ago: move to Turkey to remain key players, or accept a backup role in Europe’s biggest leagues.
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Fenerbahçe, Beşiktaş and Galatasaray are ready to welcome them as superstars.
The big clubs in the Premier League, La Liga and the Bundesliga, on the other hand, seem willing to take them only under very different conditions: lower wages, more competition and no guarantees of a starting spot.
An unthinkable scenario for three players of their caliber, all of them standout stars in the Italian league.
Lukaku: from title-winning talisman to Hojlund’s backup
The fastest decline is probably Lukaku’s. In the summer of 2025, the Belgian was coming off a title-winning season as a key figure, but a serious rectus femoris injury virtually wiped out the following campaign: just seven appearances off the bench and only one goal for Napoli.
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Meanwhile, the Azzurri invested heavily in Rasmus Hojlund. Sporting director Manna admitted that the presence of both strikers would have to be made to “fit together,” while agent Pastorello was far more direct: imagining Lukaku as the number two would be very hard to accept.
And then there is Fenerbahçe. The Turkish club is said to have already reached a basic agreement with the player and is now in talks with Napoli after an initial offer of around six million euros was rejected. Napoli’s asking price is believed to be close to ten million.
The paradox is clear: a year ago, Lukaku was the centre-forward for the champions of Italy; today, if he wants to remain the focal point of a team, he may have to leave one of Europe’s top five leagues.
Staying in Naples would mean battling Hojlund for the spot. Istanbul, on the other hand, would offer him what Big Rom has always looked for: responsibility, trust and a team built at least in part around his characteristics.
Vlahovic: worth 70 million yesterday, a free agent today
Vlahovic’s story is even more striking from an economic standpoint. He joined Juventus in January 2022 as one of Europe’s most sought-after strikers, and ended his time in black and white with 68 goals in 168 appearances, without ever fully becoming the dominant forward many had imagined when he was signed.
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Last season he scored seven goals in 19 Serie A matches and three in four Champions League appearances. Respectable numbers, also highlighted by the goal he scored after just ten seconds against Lecce, Juventus’ fastest league goal since statistical tracking began in 2004.
But it was not enough to earn a renewal. His contract expired and, despite the chance to sign him without paying a transfer fee, Europe’s top clubs have still not made a serious move.
The issue remains his salary: Vlahovic wants to maintain wages close to the 12 million euros net he earned in his final year at Juventus. That demand has cooled interest from the Premier League, La Liga and even Italian clubs themselves. By mid-July, according to La Gazzetta, Beşiktaş was the only club to have shown truly concrete interest.
In Istanbul, he would reunite with Vincenzo Italiano, who coached him during the final part of his time at Fiorentina and contacted him personally. The Serbian initially asked for time while waiting for a top club, but Beşiktaş came back strongly, putting technical centrality and a salary on the table that nobody else seems willing to guarantee.
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Vlahovic is only 26. And yet his crossroads already resembles that of a big name in the downward phase of his career: starter and star in Turkey, or an alternative option in a top-tier European side.
Leao wanted the Premier League, but only Istanbul is calling
Leao’s case is different. The Portuguese is not a free agent, he is not 33, and he is not coming off a season completely ruined by injuries. But his output has dropped: in 2025/26 he made 31 appearances, scoring ten goals and providing three assists in all competitions, after finishing the previous season with ten goals and eleven assists.
Leao has told Milan he wants to try a new experience. His preferred destination would be the Premier League, to the point that his entourage reportedly sounded out Arsenal, Manchester United and even Leeds. None of those tracks, however, turned into a concrete offer.
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The club that has truly made a move is Galatasaray. The Turkish side offered a loan with an option to buy, a formula rejected by Milan, who want a permanent transfer and value the player at around 50 million euros.
On the salary front, Istanbul can be far more persuasive: Galatasaray is reportedly ready to allocate to Leao the budget freed up by Mauro Icardi’s departure, offering around ten million euros net, almost double the fixed portion he earns with the Rossoneri.
That is the most significant detail for Milan and for Rafa himself: the player who for years was linked with PSG, Chelsea, Barcelona and Manchester City is now receiving his most concrete offers from the Super Lig.
The market’s verdict
Fenerbahçe, Beşiktaş or Galatasaray can offer packed stadiums, high wages, a title race and European competitions, but not the same appeal as Europe’s top five leagues.
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And the truth for Vlahovic, Lukaku and Leao seems undeniable: Turkey appears to be the only market left willing to treat these players as outright superstars.
In the major leagues, Lukaku would have to accept competition from a younger striker. Vlahovic would have to drastically lower his financial demands and probably start without any certainty of a place. Leao would find already established wingers at England’s top clubs and pecking orders he would have to climb.
In Istanbul, on the other hand, they would arrive as poster boys.
A year ago, they were the faces of Serie A. Today, the market is offering them two possibilities: accept a less central role in the elite, or start over as protagonists on the shores of the Bosphorus. And perhaps the real problem is not that Turkey wants Lukaku, Vlahovic and Leao. It is that, right now, only Turkey seems to want them.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.
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