Super Eagles star Victor Osimhen: 3 records he can break with Galatasaray

Victor Osimhen has already turned his two seasons at Galatasaray into one of the most productive spells of his career, Afrik-Foot reports.

The Tottenham-linked Nigeria striker arrived in Istanbul on loan from Napoli in September 2024 and scored 37 goals in 41 matches during his first campaign. Those goals helped Galatasaray win the Turkish Süper Lig and Turkish Cup. His 26 league goals also made him the division’s top scorer, while his 37 goals across all competitions took him past Mario Jardel’s 34-goal mark from 2000-01 as the highest-scoring foreign player in a single season in Turkish football.

Galatasaray then made Osimhen’s move permanent in July 2025. His second season brought another league title, while he scored seven times in the Champions League, including a hat-trick against Ajax on Nov. 5, 2025. He also scored the extra-time goal that helped Galatasaray eliminate Juventus 7-5 on aggregate in the knockout phase play-off.

Now, with another Super Lig and Champions League campaign ahead, Osimhen has three major scoring records within reach.

Most goals by a foreign player in one Süper Lig season

Mbaye Diagne’s 30 league goals in the 2018-19 Süper Lig set the mark Osimhen must chase, as he battles elite opponents to power Galatasaray to another league crown. Diagne scored 30 times that season while playing for Kasımpaşa and Galatasaray. Osimhen came close during his first campaign in Turkey, finishing the 2024-25 league season with 26 goals.

That leaves Osimhen needing 31 league goals in 2026-27 to break the record outright. The target is demanding because it would mean scoring at least 31 times across the league campaign, five more than his previous Süper Lig best.

Osimhen has already shown that he can produce at that level across an entire season. His 37 goals in all competitions during 2024-25 were the most ever by a foreign player in one Turkish season, surpassing Jardel’s 34.

Most goals in one Süper Lig season

The toughest domestic target belongs to Tanju Çolak. The former Galatasaray striker scored 39 league goals in the 1987-88 Süper Lig season, a record that has stood for decades. Guinness World Records lists Çolak’s 39 goals as the highest total by a player in a single Turkish top-flight season.

Osimhen would need 40 goals to break the record. That is a much harder challenge than Diagne’s foreign-player mark because Osimhen would have to score 14 more league goals than his 26-goal total from 2024-25.

Çolak’s record was part of a remarkable season. His 39 goals helped Galatasaray win the 1987-88 league title, and he also collected the European Golden Boot.

Osimhen’s route to the record would require an extraordinary league campaign, but his previous scoring rate means the record is at least a clear statistical target. It is not an impossible target, especially if Galatasaray bring in an elite-level supplier for Osimhen.

Most goals by an African player in one Champions League season

The Champions League offers Osimhen perhaps his most eye-catching continental target. Mohamed Salah’s 2017-18 campaign at Liverpool produced 11 Champions League goals, placing the Egyptian as the leading African scorer in a single edition of the competition.

Osimhen’s best Champions League season so far is his 2025-26 campaign, when he scored seven goals in 10 appearances for Galatasaray. He therefore needs 12 goals in a single Champions League campaign to surpass the 11-goal benchmark.

The new Champions League format gives clubs more league-phase matches than the old group stage, followed by possible knockout games. Galatasaray reached the round of 16 last term for the first time in 12 years before Liverpool ended their run with a 4-1 aggregate victory.

Osimhen has already shown that he can produce against elite opposition. He scored against Liverpool during the league phase, hit three against Ajax and then scored in both legs of the Juventus knockout play-off. Another deep run would give the Super Eagles striker the number of matches needed to attack the African scoring record.