RUMOURS DENIED

The Galatasaray president Unal Aysal has categorically denied rumours that former Arsenal defender Emmanuel Eboue, who is one of the star players of the team, is set for being sold in the January transfer window.

The Ivory Coast international moved to Turkish football only a few seasons ago and he has been one of the first-team regulars at the club. However, there have been reports that the 29-year-old could be sold after the manager has apparently held talks with the player. This has been dismissed by the President Unal Aysal, who has said that Eboue is one of the important members of the team because of his quality and experience.

The 29-year-old had six seasons at Arsenal before moving to Galatasaray. Even though he was not highly successful in terms of trophies with the Premier league club, he had a reputation for being one of the versatile defenders around. Eboue was consistently deployed as a right midfielder and holding midfielder by the manager Arsene Wenger when he was playing for the English club. The Galatasaray coach Terim has recently held talks with the player according to the president. The player has so far been part of the team in 16 matches. Galatasaray are top of the table after the recent win over rivals Fenerbahce.

“There is definitely no such thing to be spoken about, even if it already has been. I do not want anyone to go, Eboue is a very experienced name and a major contribution to the team. Fatih has started the talks on the phone and the things that we do. We (will) mutually decide (what to do) before we play our cards,” said the president of the club in a recent interview. Galatasaray recently managed a 2-1 win over arch rivals Fenerbahce, a match in which Raul Meireles was sent off.