Southampton form part of a multi-club model under owners Sport Republic, with Goztepe and Valenciennes the other two sides.
Southampton are Sport Republic’s flagship club, with Goztepe growing in stature having earned promotion to the Turkish top flight last season.
Valenciennes’ fortunes have been less positive, with the French club relegated to the third tier last campaign.
Up until this summer, Southampton fans may feel they have not really seen any benefit from the partnership, with a pre-season friendly with Goztepe in Turkey last summer and Mateusz Lis spending last season on loan at the club from the Saints the only indication that the two sides are linked.
However, Southampton have made two signings already this summer who will spend the season on loan at Goztepe in the shape of Brazilian Juan Silva and Japan international Kuryi Matsuki.
Rasmus Ankersen is the CEO at Goztepe, having held a similar role at Southampton before a reshuffle after relegation last summer.
Phil Parsons is now CEO at the Saints and has enjoyed a much more fruitful spell at the helm so far.
Rasmus Ankersen reveals how Southampton and Goztepe both benefit from Sport Republic model
Whilst Ankersen is now a background figure to Southampton, he is still an important member of Sport Republic’s three-club organisation.
Southampton fans had their questions answered at the club’s annual fans forum at St Mary’s on Monday night and Ankersen has hosted a similar event at Goztepe this summer.
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It was here that the Dane explained the benefit to both Southampton and the Turkish club of being part of the Sport Republic ownership group.
Ankersen claimed in the event posted on Goztepe’s official Youtube channel that the arrangement is a “win, win, win for everyone” before going on to explain his claim by saying: “It becomes a win for Southampton because we can help make these players ready for the Premier League.
“It becomes a win for Goztepe because we get a player that’s above the level of what we normally would be able to attract here in our situation right now.
“Goztepe also gets a financial benefit from the future if the whole operation is successful.”
Given it was a Goztepe event and Ankersen is responsible for the day-to-day running of the club, it is no surprise that he went on to try and ease any concerns from fans of the Turkish side at being a Southampton afterthought.
Ankersen said: “So i’m not putting Goztepe in the second rank, I’m putting it in the first rank and I’m trying to create a situation where everyone wins and I really believe this is a competitive advantage for Goztepe.”
Southampton could now start to reap rewards of Goztepe partnership
Mateusz Lis was excellent on loan at Goztepe last season, keeping 20 league clean sheets on the way to promotion.
The goalkeeper signed for Southampton in 2022 but is yet to make his competitive debut for his parent club.
Lis is expected to return to Turkey this summer to help Goztepe in the top flight, but that move may depend on Southampton’s ability to sign another goalkeeper this summer.
Goztepe’s promotion is good news for Southampton as it means that any players they opt to loan to the club will be playing at a higher level that is more likely to prepare them for a successful transition to England.
The signings of Kuryi Matsuki and Juan Silva – 21 and 22 respectively – are byproducts of Sport Republic’s shared scouts allow Southampton, Goztepe and Valenciennes to extend their scouting network to Asia and South America.
Both players have clearly been identified as talents but neither is ready for the rigours of the Premier League just yet.
Therefore, a season in the Turkish top flight makes sense and being at Goztepe allows Southampton to keep tabs on the pair’s progress more closely than would be possible at any other club.
Matsuki and Silva could become household names at St Mary’s in the future and Goztepe look set to play their part in that journey.