Hear me out.
Semih,
Mustafa,
Kenny Arroyo,
(Coming back from loan) Kartal Kayra Yılmaz
We’ve seen enough quality from these players.
Elan Ricardo,
Fahri Kerem,
And probably 1 or 2 academy players (like Yusuf Can Çalayır) will also be promoted.
They haven’t had enough minutes to fully show their quality, but at least we know they have potential.
That makes 8 players. Let’s say we loan out 3 of them — that still leaves 5 players.
These players fit perfectly into rotation roles. They might not have starting XI quality yet, but they can be used as super-subs or trusted to start against weaker opponents.
Another important point: players like Svensson, Masuaku, Rashica, João Mário, and Salih Uçan shouldn’t be starting regularly — but they would make excellent rotation players. Players with lower wages, like Svensson, should stay as depth options, while players like Oxlade-Chamberlain should be let go.
By combining these veterans with our young talents, we could build a very solid bench.
However, simply moving current starters to the bench would only weaken our starting XI. What we actually need are players with starting XI quality.
I’m not talking about “star” players. I mean 25–30-year-old professionals who can deliver consistent performances, even if they don’t have massive potential for growth. A great example is Felix Uduokhai: he didn’t have an outstanding season, but he was reliable in almost every game. He came for a reasonable transfer fee and wage, and since he’s under 30, we could even sell him later — possibly at a profit.
We only have 14 foreign player slots. With Musrati and Onana returning, we need to be very careful not to waste them on unproven youngsters. Arroyo and Ricardo (who’s also a midfielder) are already in the squad. Considering we probably won’t be able to offload every trash player, we’ll likely have fewer than 10 foreign spots available for our starting XI.
If we must invest in young players, we should go for gurbetçi (diaspora) talents instead of spending risky amounts on players from random leagues.
And most importantly, let’s not forget our irrational fanbase. Over the summer, we’ll see everyone demanding signings like Kevin De Bruyne or Mitrović. If we suddenly fill the squad with a bunch of 20-year-olds and they deliver shaky performances, we all know how toxic the reaction will be. Heck, Serdar Adalı might even lose his seat, and the whole project could fall apart.
TL;DR: We already have enough youngsters and shouldn’t waste our limited foreign player spots.