New blood at Genclerbirligi

Belgium must be swarming with Genclerbirligi scouts. Each year we seem to pick up someone from there, not necessarily Belgian - Aussie Josip Skoko was playing there when we bought him - but still...

The latest is a 17 year-old bloke by the name of Umut Gundogan, who is clearly of Turkish origin but has already played for the Belgian Under 21 team and who was contracted to Anderlecht, according to the Anatolian news agency.

I did some checking to find out a bit more about the kid and according to www.footballtransfers.co.uk he is a midfielder. and in the last year played for MVV (and he is listed on the MVV website). Perhaps he been on loan from Anderlecht.

Anyway, today he signed a four-year contract and Genclerbirligi's spin doctor Muammer Akyuz said he believed that Gundogan will be playing in the main side sometime soon.

In other transfer news Genclerbirligi are on the verge of signing another Brazilian. The 24 year-old (Anatolia says he is 25 but his birthday isn't until next week so he is still 24!) goes by the single name of Kahe and is a forward. He is due in Ankara some time this afternoon and is expected to sign a two-year contract in a day or two.

Good to see that management have finally woken up and discovered that we need a forward or two (at then moment with Isaac Promise injured we only have Okan Ozturk) but I'm not so sure if a fellow with a record of played 53 games, scored six is really the sort of forward we need.

Still we can only hope.

EDIT: Just found the Brazilian's full name: Carlos Eduardo de Souza Floresta. Our very own Flying Dutchman Kanka Carlo will be pleased.

EDIT 2 (Friday afternoon): Kahe has just signed. Cavcav told reporters that Borussıa Mönchengladbach had paid 2.35 million euros for him but that Gencler had gotten him for much much less.

Kahe meanwhile pulled out all the cliches: "I'd heard Genclerbirligi's name in Europe. I'm very happy to come here. My aim is to score goals and for my team to have success."

Certainly looking forward to Kahe's post-match interviews. Although you have to give him credit for not referring to himself in the third person.

''Avrupa'da da Gençlerbirliği'nin adını duymuştum. Buraya geldiğim için mutluyum. En kısa sürede hocamıza ve yönetime kendimi ispatlayacağım. Çok gol atmayı ve takıma büyük başarı kazandırmayı hedefliyorum'' diye konuştu.