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Rumor mill working overtime as transfer window draws near
Just as its name implies, the term “transfer window” in soccer is a period of time in which players may be bought or sold between professional clubs and such a transfer is completed after registering the player with the new club through FIFA.
The rumor mill in the local sports media works overtime during that period, concocting all kinds of transfer scenarios.
Galatasaray Vice Chairman Haldun Üstünel said over the weekend that they plan to acquire a defender and a striker during the transfer window, adding that they are not interested in defender Önder Turacı, who has been sent packing by Fenerbahçe.
Üstünel, however, dodged questions on speculations over the transfer of Kayserispor defender Ali Turan and Bursaspor striker Sercan Yıldırım.
The transfer of teenager Yıldırım will be a tough one for Galatasaray because there are many suitors. That of Ali will be relatively easy because Kayserispor has its back against the wall. Simply put, Ali will become a free agent in the summer so Kayserispor had better sell him now and make money or else he will be eligible to join any club for free in only a few months time.
“We will work on the transfer issue in accordance with the report that will be submitted by our coach [Frank Rijkaard],” Üstünel said. “Time is against us and so we have to finalize these transfers before the team’s training camp in Antalya,” he stated.
“However, let me make this crystal clear. I am not going to tell you the players we intend to acquire, but the one we won’t. Onder Turacı is not on our list, now or in the future. We have not made any contact with this player and do not intend to do so,” he further noted.
“But we intend to keep [our Aussie winger] Harry Kewell and are talking to his agent,” he added. Üstünel did not reveal the names of players on the Galatasaray transfer list, but the rumor mongers in the local sports media certainly will.
So don’t marvel when you hear that Galatasaray is planning to add Usain Bolt to its attacking because the tall long-legged Jamaican sprinter can run faster than a cheetah; or that the İstanbul club is talking to Remy “The Flying Gentleman” Bonjasky because the Dutch-Surinamese heavyweight kickboxer and three-time K-1 World Grand Prix champion will not only be an asset in the defense but will also kick the hell out of opposing strikers.
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