Galatasaray's head coach Okan Buruk has explained his decision to substitute Victor Osimhen in the 70th minute of their recent 4-1 win over Sivasspor at the Rams Park on Saturday.
Before being replaced by Dries Mertens, the Super Eagles forward had already found the back of the net twice, bringing his tally to 32 and 33 goals across all competitions for the Turkish champions, who remain on track to defend their title.
Osimhen has now surpassed his personal record of 31 goals in a single season, a milestone set with Napoli during the 2022/23 campaign.
He has also exceeded teammate Mauro Icardi's 32-goal tally from last season with Galatasaray, and is now just two goals away from breaking Mario Jardel's record of 34 goals in a single season.
Buruk revealed he opted to pull Osimhen off early to safeguard his star player from injury and avoid the risk of a card, despite the forward being on course to set another career milestone.
Buruk explains Osimhen’s early substitution
In his post-match press conference, Buruk shed light on the decision to substitute Osimhen in the 70th minute of their victory over Sivasspor.
Despite the Nigerian striker’s brace, which brought his tally to 33 goals this season, Buruk explained that the substitution was a precautionary move.
“He was close to the 3rd goal. He broke his career record and I prevented him from developing. We think more sensitively on the bench. I took him out of the game because he was on the verge of a yellow card and to reduce the risk of injury. Since we made the first change in the first half, we had the chance to stop the game twice. I thought of changing 3 players in the second change. I am trying to protect our players. I wish him to save his goals for the next match and score,” Buruk shared, as reported by Fotomac.
Osimhen's loan spell with the Turkish champions is set to conclude at the end of the season. His contract with Napoli includes a €75 million (£63.2 million) buyout clause, and he has been linked with a host of clubs, including Manchester United, Chelsea, Juventus, and Al Hilal.
