Galatasaray swoops for West Ham winger Sofiane Feghouli
Galatasaray has signed West Ham United winger Sofiane Feghouli on a five-year contract for 4.25 million euros ($5 million), the Istanbul club announced on Aug. 14.The 27-year-old Algeria international spent one season at West Ham after joining the Premier League club on a three-year deal from La Liga side Valencia last year.
Feghouli scored four goals in 27 appearances for the Hammers, including one against NK Domzale in the return leg of a Europa League third qualifying round tie in West Ham’s first match at the club’s new London Stadium last July.
The player has a slight injury and will not be available until after the international break in the first week of September, said Cenk Ergün, Galatasaray’s football director.
Paris-born Feghouli came through the ranks at French club Grenoble before joining Valencia.
An age-grade representative for France, he chose to play for Algeria and scored the country’s first World Cup goal in 28 years with a penalty against Belgium in 2014.
Feghouli will be the latest edition to the Galatasaray squad, whose new faces held it make a winning start to the Spor Toto Super League on Aug. 14.
French striker Bafetimbi Gomis scored a double, while Moroccan midfielder Younes Belhanda and 25-year-old Tolga Ciğerci added one each in their team’s 4-1 victory over Kayserispor at the Türk Telekom Stadium.
Galatarsaty coach Igor Tudor, whose job is hanging in the balance since Galatasaray was knocked out in the very early stages of the Europa League by Swedish minnow Östersund last month, was again on the target of club fans, who booed the Croatian when his name was announced.
“Being a coach is a tough job,” Tudor said at the post-game press conference when asked about the incident.
“You are good when you win, you are bad when you lose. Such reactions happen, being under pressure is normal at big clubs. Expectation are high, and we have made a good start, but we must continue to get better ,” he added.
