Baris Alper Yimaz of Galatasaray
Baris Alper Yimaz of Galatasaray
Everton have been linked with a move for Baris Alper Yimaz. But what could he potentially bring to the Blues squad?
Turkish outlet A Spor reports that the 25-year-old wide man has been approached by Everton this summer regarding a transfer to the Premier League and while they reckon the Blues will soon make an offer worth more than £16million plus add-ons, the player’s club Galatasaray actually want £29million for him.
Hailing from the coastal city of Rize in the Black Sea Region in Turkey’s north east – some 48 miles closer to the Georgian border than Trabzon where Everton fan favourite Kevin Campbell played for Trabzonspor before his 1999 move to Goodison Park – Yimaz was born on May 23, 2000. After starting in junior football with local club Rize Il Ozel Idarespor, his first team breakthrough came in Turkey’s capital city with spells at fourth tier Ankara Demispor between 2017-20 and then second tier Ankara Keciorengucu in the 2020/21 season.
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Yimaz’s big move to the Turkish Super Lig came on July 9, 2021, when he joined Galatasaray and so far he has made 154 appearances for the Istanbul outfit, scoring 25 goals, including 14 in 48 matches in 2024/25. Making his international debut in a 6-0 romp against minnows Gibraltar on November 13, 2021, Yimaz has been capped 27 times for Turkey and has netted twice.
In terms of what sort of player he is, Comparisonator’s Similarity tool calculates Liverpool’s Luis Diaz as being the closest match among those currently plying their trade in the Premier League with a 95% match. Another of Arne Slot’s squad is next up with Cody Gakpo on 92%, followed by Matheus Cunha, who has just joined Manchester United from Wolverhampton Wanderers (85%); Manchester United’s Alejandro Garnacho (84%); Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli (77%); Brighton & Hove Albion’s Kaoru Mitoma (74%) and Newcastle United’s former Everton man, Anthony Gordon (71%).
When it comes to fitting into different managers’ systems, Comparisonator’s Artificial Intelligence Team Finder reckons that Yimaz, with an A.I. Suitability Weight of 287.72 is actually a better fit than the incumbent players at no fewer than 16 Premier League clubs, including Everton’s Iliman Ndiaye (232.8); the aforementioned Gakpo at Liverpool (251.31), Gordon at Newcastle United (266.56) and Garnacho at Manchester United (257.16); Leandro Trossard at Arsenal (226.98); Pedro Neto at Chelsea (272.01) and Heung-min Son at Tottenham Hotspur (281.14).
We can also use Comparisonator’s Virtual Transfer tool to correlate Yimaz’s statistics from 2024/25 against players turning out in his position in the Premier League. Having struck a dozen times in 32 Super Lig matches, his average goals per 90 minutes figure of 0.48, edges out English top flight leader Cunha on 0.47 and with some 2.14 opportunities per 90 minutes, only Cunha (2.32) was getting more than Yimaz.
His average of 1.1 shots on target can only be bettered by Cunha (1.42) and Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo (1.14), while he’d also come in third for expected assists (0.25) behind Nottingham Forest’s Anthony Elanga (0.29) and Son (0.27). Yimaz’s expected goals (xG) comes in at 0.3 which would rank him fourth in the Premier League after Semenyo and Mohammed Kudus of West Ham United (both 0.32), then Garnacho on 0.31.
Baris Alper Yimaz's shots on target statistics for Galatasaray in 2024/25 compared to Premier League players in his position
Baris Alper Yimaz's shots on target statistics for Galatasaray in 2024/25 compared to Premier League players in his position
Yimaz’s dynamism off the ball is demonstrated by his 3.05 pickings up (of loose possession) each game, a number topped only by Kudus (3.84) and Semenyo (3.18). Although he comes in seventh for passes (27.81) and 14th for successful passes (20.43), categories both led by Fulham’s former Everton man Alex Iwobi (38.97 and 31.07 respectively), with 0.9 key passes per 90 minutes, just Neto can better that on 0.94.
Yimaz is putting in more crosses (4.62) than any of his Premier League peers, with Neto leading on 4.35 ahead of Bournemouth’s Dango Ouattara (4.14) and Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli (3.88) but he drops to fourth four successful crosses (1.29) after Neto (1.94); Kudus (1.74) and Martinelli (1.42). As a player in his mid-20s with considerable experience both at club and international level, Yimaz looks to be a ready-made talent at the peak of his powers, but it is a big step up from Turkey to the Premier League.
With two years remaining on his current contract, this looks to be the opportune time for Galatasaray to cash in but there would also need to be significant negotiations from both sides to agree upon a fee. Also, while Yimaz can operate on the right, he is primarily a left winger, the one area where Everton are already well-stocked.
David Moyes has got Iliman Ndiaye, Dwight McNeil and Carlos Alcaraz – who turned his loan move into a permanent switch on May 31 – at his disposal and in recent days has been linked with a move for Manchester City’s £100million man Jack Grealish. It could soon be getting rather crowded on that side of the new pitch on the Mersey waterfront at Hill Dickinson Stadium!
*Comparisonator is a football data comparison tool from 271 professional leagues around the world which compares players and clubs by utilising over 100 different parameters. Click here for more details.