Football Season Guide

Trabzonspor

In


Caleb Ekuban (att) Leeds United; John Obi Mikel (mid) Middlesbrough; Alexander Sörloth (att) Crystal Palace – on loan; Gaston Campi (def) Estudiantes; Erce Kardesler (gk) Altinordu; Yusuf Sari (att) Marseille; Dogan Erdogan (mid) LASK; Ivanildo Fernandes (def) Sporting CP – on loan; Ahmet Canbaz (mid) W.Bremen II; Firatcan Uzum (att) Eskisehirspor; Nemanja Andjusic (att) Mladost Kakanj; Donis Avdijaj (att) Free Agent.

Out


Oguzhan Acil (def), Muzaffer Cem Kablan (gk) Fatih Karagumruk – on loan; Yusuf Yazici (r) (mid) Lille; Zargo Toure (sp) (def) Genclerbirligi; Batuhan Artarslan (mid) BB Erzurum; Vahid Amiri (sp) (att) Persepolis; Hugo Rodallega (r) (att) Denizlispor; Caleb Ekuban (r) (att) Leeds United – end of loan.

What a great season finish by Trabzon! They let older fans remember the successful days in the past and enable the soul return to the city. Of course, coach Unal Karaman’s decisions took a great role in this success, but some players also offered unforgettable performances. Unfortunately, the fans will not be able to see two of them, Yusuf Yazici and Hugo Rodallega. The latter was replaced by loanee Sörloth. He has a different style from Rodallega, but he can be useful with his height. Avidlaj and Andjusic were also added to the left flank, but those players do not seem good enough to fill his role. It is the same story for the young arrivals like Firatcan Uzum and Yusuf Sari for the right flank. No doubt that John Obi Mikel is the most influential signing of the summer. He has spent 2018 in the Chinese league before playing for Middlesbrough in 2019. Along with Jose Sosa and Abdulkadir Omur, he will take the responsibility of the midfield. In the defence line, they just saw the departure of Zargo Toure. The coach will try to fill his role with Campi and Fernandes. Except that, the rest of the defence line are the same. Young center back Huseyin Turkmen is capable of performing much better after gaining experience last season. On the net, the fans will see another talented keeper, Erce Kardesler, who arrived from Altinordu. Along with Ugurcan Cakir, they will make the fans feel safe on the net. Following the interest on Yusuf Sari and its result, the board understood the importance of young and talented players. If the coach get efficiency from their young player policy, they can at least manage to repeat last season’s success. Maybe more…

Target


Since they look stronger comparing to the past years, they target to clinch the title, but any European Cup ticket is also a great achievement. An improving run in the Europa League and the cup would be great.