Free Sezer and Ufuk now!!!

By: Musab | August 12th, 2009

This year the CimBom’s made some pretty impressive transfers and will be expected to be competitive in every competition it takes part in. However something that stands out is the lack of new Turkish players to the squad. Barring Gokhan Zan, Galatasaray haven’t brought any Turkish players despite its history of reaching out and raising new Turkish talent. We now know that club president Adnan Polat is attempting to lure Manisaspor’s two talented youngsters, midfielder Sezer Ozturk and goalkeeper Ufuk Ceylan over to Istanbul.

Both players have publicly stated that they feel it is time for them to leave in order to further their careers with Galatasaray where they will be given top class training and European football. Adnan Polat has made an impressive offer for the two starlets involving a good sum of cash along with a couple fringe players in exchange. The Manisaspor board have flatout refused to accept the offer and demand a lot more cash, around the 5 million mark for the two. Both players will see their contracts end this summer and will then be free to do as they please. Adnan Polat has stated that even if we dont get them this summer, we can simply pick them up for free next year.

What Manisaspor is doing is foolish and is against the benefit of the club. This club has only just emerged from the second league and has not had a particularly good summer in the transfer department. Galatasaray is offering to them Aykut Ercetin, an established goalkeeper who is in his late 20s in exchange for a promising goalkeeper which has no top league experience. We are also offering Mehmet Guven, an effective defensive mdifielder which has seen plenty of first team action along with Yaser Yildiz, a youngster who was the top goal scorer in the second league two seasons ago for Sezer. Add to this the ~1.5 million dollars and this is a very honest and fair deal which will see both sides profit from. Galatasaray gets two talented youngters whom it will develop while Manisaspor gets players that will help it stay in the first league this year along with a good amount of money.

What makes the situation even more bizzare is that Manisaspor has effectively imprisoned Sezer and Ufuk for declaring their desire to move on by putting them in a seperate training regimen and distancing them from their teammates. After this point it is impossible for them to be of any use to Manisa. By cutting two vital players (one of whom is the teams goalkeeper), they have shot themselves in the foot and risk falling back to the second league. It’s obvious that the Manisaspor board dont care about the Manisa fans, but only their pockets.

Should Manisaspor accept the offer? Should Galatasaray pay out what Manisaspor wants? Leave your comments below!