Two goals in three minutes. That is how long it took Aleksey Batrakov to end any debate about whether Galatasaray’s summer signing from Lokomotiv Moscow was ready for the Champions League. The 21-year-old Russian struck in the 12th and 15th minutes of Galatasaray’s 2-0 win over Stuttgart at Rams Park on 3 November, a match in which, according to Flashscore, Stuttgart became the first German side to lose away at Galatasaray since 1992.
It was also a piece of statistical history. According to Meduza, Batrakov became the first Russian player to score twice in a Champions League match since 2015, when Artem Dzyuba did so against Lyon for Zenit St. Petersburg.
Scouts from across the Premier League
Arsenal and Liverpool had sent scouts to Batrakov’s previous Champions League start in northern France, where he scored in Galatasaray’s 4-2 win at Lille. By kick-off against Stuttgart the list had grown. According to The Hard Tackle, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United all had scouts at Rams Park, with Liverpool and Bayern Munich also among the interested clubs. Paris Saint-Germain, who also monitored him last summer before prioritising Ferran Torres and Maghnes Akliouche, remain in the background.
A clause written for Europe’s top four leagues
The structure of the deal is what makes the next window realistic. According to Goal, Batrakov joined Galatasaray from Lokomotiv Moscow for €25m in the summer, and his contract contains a release clause of approximately £50m that applies exclusively to clubs in England, Spain, Italy and Germany.
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That carve-out rules out Turkish rivals and most of the French market while keeping the door open to the clubs the player’s camp see as realistic destinations. Goal also notes that Batrakov’s transfer to a Turkish club is what made him accessible to Premier League buyers at all, after UK sanctions related to the war in Ukraine had previously blocked English clubs from dealing directly with Lokomotiv.
Galatasaray are not pushing him out
The Turkish champions have no interest in entertaining January bids. Manager Okan Buruk, speaking after the Stuttgart win, kept the focus on the league phase, as reported by Hurriyet Daily News.
“Our first goal is to win all the matches we will play. We dream of winning the remaining four matches and entering the top eight,” Buruk told Turkish reporters.
Batrakov was named Flashscore’s man of the match in Istanbul and has now scored in three consecutive Champions League games, against Barcelona, Lille and Stuttgart. Galatasaray sit on six points after four matches in the league phase, with four fixtures left to play and a top-eight finish the target that would deliver automatic qualification for the round of 16.
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