The Turkish Super Lig is renowned for its history of bringing in well-known names from the top European leagues, with Victor Osimhen, Edin Dzeko and Ciro Immobile illuminating the competition in the 2024-25 season.
But what about the footballers who venture to Turkey and suddenly disappear from the spotlight? The lists of former stars from top clubs such as Tottenham, Liverpool, and Arsenal, who have experienced a decline in their careers after signing with top-flight Turkish Super Lig clubs, are long.
Here are six players who have gone completely under the radar since they signed with Turkish Super League clubs.
Dele Alli
We have nothing but admiration for Dele after his refreshingly honest confessions about his personal challenges.
We'd love to see him achieve his goal of being part of England's 2026 World Cup team, though it appears increasingly unlikely, given his lack of club affiliation with each passing month.
Dele Alli's problems began with his declining form at Tottenham and a lackluster stint at Everton to revitalize his career, but a dismal loan season at Besiktas in 2022-23, marked by vocal disapproval from fans and harsh criticism from the club president, clearly took a toll on him.
It's nearly two years since the 28-year-old last appeared in any professional game.
Jonjo Shelvey
Shelvey has had a decade of experience playing for prominent clubs, including Liverpool, Newcastle United, and Nottingham Forest, but never a Yorkshire club, until joining Eyupspor.
The 32-year-old's professional life had already shown signs of stagnation prior to his trip to Turkey, as he had lost favor at Newcastle United after a significant shakeup of the midfield following the team's ownership change.
The intended outcome failed to materialize.
Shelvey dropped out of the mainstream football spotlight in September 2023 when he transferred on a free contract to Caykur Rizespor in the Super Lig. He actually played consistently for the team during a forgettable season, but then left for Eyupspor at the end of that season.
The newly-promoted team, led by coach Arda Turan, is currently experiencing great success in the Super Lig. They're fourth in the table as of now, but Shelvey had difficulty finding opportunities to play and was recently let go by the club.
Burnley, which is currently fighting for promotion, is reportedly eyeing a talent who may still have a resurgence left in him.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
The Gunners' all-time highest transfer fee received. It's a quite remarkable figure, isn't it?
Oxlade-Chamberlain looked well worth the money in his early days with Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool, rubbing extra salt into the Gunners' wounds by solidifying their usual spot within the top four.
Injuries gradually diminished his impact, but he still managed 30 appearances in the Reds' Premier League-winning campaign in 2019-20.
By the time of his 2023 departure, however, he had largely become a secondary figure. Nineteen years old when he was released, the midfielder still had time ahead of him to restart his career elsewhere.
Unfortunately, Oxlade-Chamberlain has not so far been able to reach the same level at Besiktas.
He began less than a third of their matches last season, as they finished a distant sixth, 46 points behind their Istanbul rivals Galatasaray, and has only one Super Lig start under his belt so far in 2024-25.
Andros Townsend
The entire complexion of English international players from a bygone era sees Townsend transferring his allegiance to Turkey only quite recently.
Like his fellow teammates, it is likely that a declining career was either the reason for or a sign of his transfer to Antalyaspor.
Actually, he handled the setback well and played a key role for an enterprising Luton Town team last season, despite a devastating ACL injury cutting short his stint at Everton.
We can only applaud Townsend for taking on a new challenge in a foreign setting at the age of 33, especially considering he must have received offers from clubs in the First Division at that time, particularly after Antalyaspor's transfer issue led to a temporary halt in his career.
Bruma
Fairly speaking, having moved to Turkey the first time around did not particularly harm Bruma's career.
When he was a youngster, Bruma joined Galatasaray from Sporting in 2013 for a €10 million fee.
.
The Portuguese winger returned to the Super Lig and his arch-rivals Fenerbahce's squad, but unfortunately, his stay at the club dipped slightly. He made only five appearances during his loan stint with Galatasaray in the 2022-23 season and zero appearances after that, when he joined the club permanently.
To be fair, he's performed admirably since then back at Braga, winning the Portuguese League Cup last season and reaching double figures in consecutive seasons.
But unless you're an avid follower of top-level Portuguese football, it's likely you'll have entirely forgotten about this former wonderkid.
Adem Ljajic
The Serbian youngster was famously pictured holding a Manchester United shirt alongside then-manager Sir Alex Ferguson in 2009 after signing a contract with the club. However, his transfer to Old Trafford from Partizan was ultimately blocked due to visa requirements.
The midfielder recovered from that setback to have a respectable career in the 2010s - a reliable player for Serbia's national team who represented them at the 2018 World Cup.
He scored 45 goals and made over 200 appearances in the Serie A for Fiorentina, Roma, Inter, and Torino, during which time, he was often rumored to be on the verge of moving to the Premier League.
It's safe to say that he's largely fallen off the radar since signing with Besiktas in 2018. He was instrumental in their Super Lig triumph during the 2020-21 season, which was heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, but he has since joined Fatih Karagumruk.
Perkez Liacic, who still only 33 years old, has not been selected for Serbia in four years and has been playing for his home team, FK Novi Pazar, in recent seasons.
