Southampton and newly promoted Turkish club Goztepe both have Sport Republic as their owners and thus, have been involved in several transfer talks regarding various players in the transfer window. There were exit rumours surrounding 30-year-old Saints striker Paul Onuachu, and Goztepe were very keen to sign him from Southampton as well towards the final week of the transfer window. Although that deal didn't materialise and Onuachu stayed with the Saints, Southampton sent three players to Goztepe that included two loan moves.
Similar to Southampton, Goztepe also prepared for their return to the first division after securing promotion last season. However, unlike Southampton, Goztepe have enjoyed a good start to the season with three wins and three draws from their first seven league fixtures. On that note, here are the performances of those three players who left the Saints to join the Turkish side in the summer transfer window.
3 Southampton stars who are having a high-flying start at Turkish side Goztepe
Juan
Juan came through the youth ranks at Brazilian side Sao Paulo and was signed by Southampton at the beginning of the 2024 summer transfer window. The Saints decided to loan the 22-year-old talented forward to Goztepe, where he is continuing his rapid progress for Stanimir Stoilov's side.
Juan made his Turkish league debut for Goztepe against Jose Mourinho's Fenerbahce coming on as a second half substitute. With Goztepe 2-1 behind, Juan laid off a brilliant assist for Romulo in the last-minute of the match, securing an important 2-2 draw in the opening match of the season.
After that, Juan also scored against Kayserispor in a comfortable 3-0 win and followed it by finding the back of the net against Samsunspor despite a narrow 4-3 defeat. Now, Juan is a regular striker under manager Stanimir Stoilov alongside centre forward Romulo, who have formed an impressive partnership in the Goztepe attack.