Firstly, it has to be acknowledged that this is an unorthodox suggestion. Okan Buruka is a Turkish league specialist rather than a big-name European coach) fits a pattern of looking for cost-effective, proven winners who could bring intensity and tactical organisation. Whether he’d adapt quickly to the Premier League’s physicality, refereeing, and media pressure is the big unknown—many Turkish league successes have struggled elsewhere.
According to Italian outlet Tuttomercatoweb, widely reported in the last day or so, and here by Yahoo!, both Lazio and Tottenham are considering Buruk as an option ahead of 2026/27. Tottenham’s interest is reportedly tied to uncertainty over current manager Igor Tudor, who has yet to be confirmed long-term. Lazio are looking at him as a potential replacement for Maurizio Sarri amid tensions with the president. Saudi club Al-Ittihad was also mentioned as being interested.
There is some general club form that has propelled his name into the ENIC frame. He’s been highly successful at Galatasaray, winning the Turkish Süper Lig title in each of the last three seasons (2022/23, 2023/24, 2024/25). His contract expires in June 2026, so he could be available on a free transfer (or low compensation).
He’s a former Galatasaray player turned manager with experience handling big egos and delivering in a high-pressure environment.
Galatasaray has had competitive European moments under him, including wins over Tottenham (3-2 in a previous Europa League clash) and Liverpool. All in all, it’s not an entirely unreasonable link. That said, this is still very early-stage speculation from one main source. No advanced talks or concrete offers have been reported yet—it’s more “monitoring/shortlisting” than a done deal.
Our view
When Thomas Frank was appointed, we were fed this line by Vinai Venkakatesham, that there had been a shortlist of some thirty candidates. Surely this must be a name from the 20-30 section of the list.
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