Gokhan Inler

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Gokhan Inler was signed to fill the gap after Esteban Cambiasso, but his late arrival and the grand form of the Leicester City team made the Swizz almost redundant. A number of other players stepped forward and took the lead as Inler hardly got a look in.

He was there all season long and played the odd game during the Premier League winning season, but hardly talked about at all as N’Golo Kante, Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy grabbed the headlines.

Signed for a fee of £5million from Napoli, one of the major clubs in Italian Serie A, made Inler probably the signing of the that 2015 summer that would see a possible rise in performance and hopefully save the club from relegation, but as points were picked thick and fast without Inler playing, Claudio Ranieri might have forgotten about his most experienced midfielder.

At the age of 31 of course still a lot to offer and he did play. In total Gokhan Inler played 10 first team games at Leicester, 5 in the PL, 3 in the EFL Cup and 2 in the FA Cup. A fun fact is that Inler played three times for Switzerland during that season, as many as he started in the Premier League for Leicester City.

Another fun fact is that in his 5 PL appearances he never lost, won against Aston Villa and Chelsea, drawing against Stoke, Tottenham and Manchester City. He started the games v. Aston Villa, Man City and Stoke, coming on against Tottenham and Chelsea, so a strange scenario really but Ranieri had more faith in Drinkwater, Kante and King who also had a key role during that PL winning season.

Inler made his last caps for Switzerland as a Leicester City player, ending his tally on 89, which also included playing and captaining his country in two World Cups. He was present both in South Africa 2010 and Brazil 2014. A brilliant servant to his country and chosing the Swizz instead of representing Turkey who he had played for as a youth international, being born in Switzerland with Turkish parents.

Inler had high hopes when he arrived in English football, and with his past at Napoli and Udinese every Leicester City fan thought he would be ideal for Leicester City, but what became a “fairy story” for some, might have been a “nightmare” for others, but in all he probably have enjoyed being part of that fantastic happening even if he was almost totally forgotten by most.

He was given the chance to leave after only one season and joined Besiktas, and later moved to another club in Turkey, Istanbul Besaksehir. and four years after the great PL winning season he is still in the game at 35.

He did win the league in Turkey with Besiktas, but couldn’t cement a steady place in the first team, but again picked up another trophy adding to the PL win and previous league wins in Switzerland with FC Zurich. In Italy he never experienced to win the league but has won the cup with Napoli.

FACTFILE

Full Name: Gokhan Inler
Postion: Midfield
Date of Birth: 27.06.1984
Birthplace: Olten, Switzerland
Nation: Switzerland
Caps / Goals: 89/7
Major Career
- 2005-2006, Aaray (25/3)
- 2006-2007, Zurich (52/3)
- 2007-2011, Udinese (141/6)
- 2011-2015, Napoli (118/9)
- 2015-2016, Leicester City (5/0)
- 2016-2020, Istanbul Basaksehir (44/1)
- 2020 ->, Adama Demirspor (38/1)
Links:
- Wikipedia