By Alex Dicken
Birmingham City have signed one of the best full-backs from the Turkish Super Lig in Nigeria international Bright Osayi-Samuel. The 27-year-old became Blues’ fifth signing of the summer transfer window on Friday, following Phil Neumann, James Beadle, Tommy Doyle and Demarai Gray through the door. He arrives from Turkish side Fenerbahce, where he has been stationed for the past four-and-a-half years having made his name in England as a livewire winger for Blackpool and Queens Park Rangers. It is Osayi-Samuel’s speed and athleticism that made him so attractive to Blues. For all of their strengths last season, Blues didn’t have pace in abundance and they have moved to correct that by signing Neumann, Gray and Osayi-Samuel. “When he first arrived at Fenerbahce he was a winger but they transitioned him into a wing-back role. In the Super Lig he was one of the best full-backs in the league, mainly because of his speed and athleticism,” says Turkish football expert Kaan Bayazit. “He’s not super tall but he’s strong and good in the duels. In the Super Lig in the last few years, other than Galatasaray and Fenerbahce who have some top class wingers, there’s a lack of really good left-wingers in the league. “Osayi-Samuel has had an easy time being able to outpace his opponents in the league and that has made him stand out quite a bit. Whether or not he would be able to replicate that in the Championship or the Premier League I don’t know, because he would be up against other players that are blessed with the same attributes that he has, and then it would boil down to how good a defender he is, and I don’t really know the answer to that question. “I don’t know if he has those defensive instincts because he has never truly been tested in the Turkish league.” Osayi-Samuel has largely been utilised going forward in a Fenerbahce side that has finished runners-up in the last three editions of the Super Lig. He didn’t contribute a goal or an assist last season under Jose Mourinho, but Osayi-Samuel contributed four league goals in the 2023/24 campaign. At Blues he is expected to compete with Ethan Laird for the right-back berth in Chris Davies’ 4-2-3-1 formation. Based on Blues’ tactical blueprint from last season, Osayi-Samuel would be positioned high on the right in possession, effectively playing as a winger. Davies will hope to improve Osayi-Samuel’s numerical output, just as he did with Laird last season. Bayazit adds: “He’s very active, very energetic, but he does lack that (numbers).” Nevertheless, Osayi-Samuel’s signing should be viewed as a coup for Blues given the level of interest in his signature. Galatasaray, who beat Fenerbahce to the title, and Besiktas both made moves to sign Osayi-Samuel before he opted to return to England with Blues. “As a player, people view him as really good,” Bayazit explained. “Besiktas fans were quite excited by the news of him coming to Besiktas. Galatasaray fans were very excited by the news around January that he was in talks with them, they were very keen on it. “Both rival fan groups definitely liked him and would have been excited about potentially signing him. Generally I would say he’s quite well respected in Turkey.”