Galatasaray welcomes midfielder Emre Akbaba

ANKARA – Anadolu Agency

Turkish football heavyweight Galatasaray welcomed its new signing Turkish midfielder Emre Akbaba on Aug. 18.

“Galatasaray are pleased to announce the terms have been agreed for the transfer of 26-year-old Turkish midfielder Emre Akbaba. The player arrives from Alanyaspor,” the club announced on Twitter.

Emre arrived in Istanbul late on Aug. 18 to ink the deal with his new club.

He said he is very happy to come to Galatasaray and cannot wait to play on the pitch.

“I told Alanyaspor officials that I want to play for Galatasaray and I insisted. That’s why I am here now. Galatasaray is a team targeting all trophies. My goals are to win cups. I talked with Fenerbahçe and Basakşehir, but I wanted to join Galatasaray. Now I am very happy to be here,” he said during the signing ceremony in Galatasaray’s home Turk Telekom Stadium.

Emre Akbaba had refused offers from Fenerbahçe and Basakşehir to move to the title defender.

Galatasaray’s new member will wear jersey number 20.

Meanwhile, a signing ceremony for Japanese left back Yuto Nagatomo, Turkish winger Mugdat Çelik and Nigerian forward Henry Onyekuru was held at Turk Telekom Stadium.

Born in Seine-Saint-Denis, France, Turkish international Emre Akbaba - playing in central midfield - had scored 14 goals and produced 10 assists in 32 Super Lig appearances last season at Alanyaspor. The signing came one day before Galatasaray’s league clash with Göztepe in İzmir.