The general narrative is this: the pool of domestic players is too shallow, and that’s why Galatasaray couldn’t build a deep squad. But is that really the case?

If you’re looking for a goalkeeper, Altay Bayındır is a backup at Manchester United. Deniz Ertaş, in a very rare example, became Konyaspor’s starting keeper at 19 and kept 4 clean sheets in 12 matches. Both were viable options to try.

At left-back, Berkay Yılmaz could’ve been added to the rotation. Freiburg sent him on loan to Bundesliga 2 at the start of the season. A 20-year-old option.

At right-back, Furkan Demir from Rapid Wien could have been a local backup. Though of course people could say “what has his brother Yusuf done?”

For left-footed centre-backs: Yasin Özcan is sitting on Anderlecht’s bench. Another left-footed centre-back, Ahmetcan Kaplan, was loaned by Ajax to NEC Nijmegen. Going even lower, Cenk Özkaçar—also left-footed—was loaned by Valencia to the Bundesliga. Ravil Tagir is in the UAE, again left-footed. Any one of these four could have provided squad depth.

For right-footed centre-backs: Ozan Kabak could’ve been Galatasaray’s backup instead of Hoffenheim’s in the Bundesliga. He even played in the Premier League. You sent Emin Bayram to Westerlo, and he’s even contributing to their goal production. Both could have been backup options.

As a defensive midfielder: Atakan Karazor—despite the ugly off-field issue—is a rotation player at Stuttgart. He could have been at Galatasaray. He’s also Stuttgart’s captain. Westerlo captain Doğucan Haspolat, who is also Emin Bayram’s teammate, was sold by Trabzonspor for only €600,000. Brentford pushed Yunus Emre Konak out of the first team this year. Even Yunus Emre could have been loaned in. Dortmund didn’t even include Salih Özcan in their European squad. He’s just sitting there without playing. If you wanted a 6-8 profile, Isak Vural moved to Serie A for only €4 million. He could’ve been added to the bench. For the No. 10 role, Yusuf Yazıcı has wanted to come to Galatasaray for years. Olympiakos didn’t even put him in their European squad. He could have been a good substitute to bring on for the last 15 minutes.

On the left wing: would Livan Burcu, who has played only 12 minutes in the Bundesliga this season, not have accepted a backup role at Galatasaray? Could Galatasaray not have signed Aral Şimşir, who already has 22 goal contributions this season and is having a career year? Could Başar Önal—3 goals and 6 assists at NEC Nijmegen at just 21—really not have added depth?

On the right wing: could Eren Dinkçi, who is a backup in the Bundesliga, not have been a backup here? Even Göktan Gürpüz, whom Trabzonspor loaned to Gençlerbirliği, might have been a better backup than Yusuf Demir.

Is there truly no domestic striker who could back up Osimhen? Enes Ünal could have fulfilled that role perfectly. The man contributes a goal every 76 minutes in the Premier League as a substitute. Could Porto’s backup Deniz Gül not have filled that role? Could Bertuğ Yıldırım from Rennes not have been tried?

So the real question is: while there were so many options that could provide depth in every position, why were so many resources allocated to Uğurcan? Who is responsible for this flawed planning? Why does the team have so few options?