Middlesbrough striker Tuncay Sanli has ruled out a return move to Turkey in the summer, declaring ‘I’m really enjoying it.’
The Turk has been at the centre of media speculation in recent days, with suggestions that he could be on his way back to his homeland rife.
The star, who moved to The Riverside on a free transfer last summer, has had a fair season, with six goals in 27 starts.
And he has underlined his desire to stay put on Teesside.
‘Football here and in Turkey are very different and it takes time to settle. The first two months were very hard but I was never worried. I knew it would take time,’ he said.
‘The big difference is that in Turkey, one week you can have a very hard game and the next can be very easy but that does not happen in England. Before I left Turkey, I always watched English football and enjoyed it.’
‘But I didn’t realise just how different it was to play in. It is stronger and faster than I realised from just watching it. It’s terrific playing over here with Middlesbrough,’ added Tuncay.
The striker will need to be on top form on Sunday when champions and table-toppers Manchester United visit The Riverside in an afternoon 1.30 kick-off.
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He and Alves could form a good pairing up fron, but they need games together!
*up front.
We also have Aliadiere too, who I would hate to leave on the sidelines, so we are rather gifted in attack at present. Hopefully, Mido will be told where to go in the summer, Dong Gook et al.
Aliadiere can play on the right and we can put O’Neil in the middle. It would be a nice way to put them all in and we would be able to switch players during the game and surprise our opponents 🙂
Not too sure about sticking Aliadiere out wide right personally. I think that would reduce his threat; he is a striker and not a winger after all.
Yeah, I agree with you, but when we have Alves, Mido, Tuncay and Aliadiere all fit it would be hard to let any of them on the bench. It’s kind of the situation that Tottenham were in at the beginning of the season.
Maybe GS will have to let one of them go in the summer? *cough* Mido *cough*
It would definitely be a very tough decision to make for him and I’m sure that if we don’t manage to score enough goals next season than the crowd would get on his back for letting a striker go.
Tuncay + Aladiere would be my number 1 pairing. None of the others deserve to start the games yet.
We’re talking about the next season. I agree that at the moment they are our best option 🙂
If they carry on the way they are i would keep them the same. One is bound to get rested or suspended in the mean time and Alves will have to seize his chance when it comes along.
But can Gareth realistically justify leaving a 12m striker on the bench? In the long-term? Wouldn’t that just be saying that he’d made a mistake?
Not if there are other strikers who deserve their starting place ahead of him. His price tag doesn’t mean he has to start, he has to earn the place or grab an opportunity when it comes along.
I thought he did quite well when he came on against Chelsea, despite missing a few chances I would expect him to score with. But, like you rightly say, Tuncay & Aliadiere are our best options to go with up top, with one just behind the other like last week.