Newcastle have agreed with Fenerbahce to sell Emre, for around £4M, but the deal has still not been completed.
Emre will complete short National Service before joining Fenerbahce
Apparently, under Turkish law, any citizen who has lived outside the country for up to three years has to spend 15 months in the national service.
But anyone returning after more than three years living abroad, which is the specific case of Emre, since he first left his homeland in 2001 for Inter-Milan, has to sign up for 21 days of basic military training.
It is reported that Emre will complete that basic training next month before he signs for Fernerbahce.
When Emre moved to Inter-Milan from Galatasaray in 2001, he asked for special permission to postpone his national service during his time in Italy, so the time in Italy really didn’t count.
He moved to Newcastle, then under Graeme Souness, who was once the Galatasaray manager, in July of 2005.
As a result of this, Emre will not finalize his return to his homeland until the start of next month, so that it is over three years since he moved to Tyneside.
The bottom line seems like he has to be in England over 3 years, before he signs for Fenerbehce and officially returns to Turkey, so he only has to serve 21 days in national service.
Well that’s better than 15 months, that’s for sure.
Pity we couldn’t have negotiated more money because of that little complication.
A Fenerbahce spokesman said:
“We will send him for national service at the end of the European Championships and there is no problem with the transfer.â€
Well, that’s an interesting story, but it still means he’ll be leaving Newcastle for about as much as we paid for him, if the £4M fee is accurate.
Comments welcome.
29 comments so far
broon ale
Jun 19, 2008 at 10:43 AM
Comment #1at first i was sad to see emre leave but having seen him pick up yet another injury during the euros its obvious the bloke is cursed and it was very smart of the club to get good money for him from a turkish team prepared to overlook his obvious problems due to his status in the country.
Wezside
Jun 19, 2008 at 10:44 AM
Comment #2tututut, seems a little scared by the army haha
HATE PRAWN SANDWICHES
Jun 19, 2008 at 10:47 AM
Comment #3I hope he’s herd of “SOAP ON A ROPE”
or he will get Kebab and garlic sauce!!!!
Bill F SPLASH THE CASH ASH
Jun 19, 2008 at 10:48 AM
Comment #4Well as his shooting has been a little erratic at times perhaps the 21 days may be a good thing. I can think of several in our lot who could benefit from a similar approach. 😉
Rob Kirton
Jun 19, 2008 at 10:49 AM
Comment #5Emre will spend his short time in Natoinal Service in the Turkish army.
He will occasoinally display skills which the other conscripts and any bystanders will admire. More often than not he will be dumped on his backside in the middle of the parade ground by a much rougher bloke who is more cut out to being a soldier. He will spend a lot of time back in barracks, unfit for duty. Maybe his boots will be too tight.
Good luck little fella
Kash2
Jun 19, 2008 at 10:50 AM
Comment #6Arshavin was dubbed the most intelligent player Guus Hiddink has ever worked with. I hope we sign him as it makes a refreshing change going from total Thick Focks to PHd footballers!
I likes the look of Zirkhov also, he was galloping down the wing tirelessly. But I really like the look of Turan too. He seems very intelligent too, reminds me of Babel in the way he plays. His final ball needs improving, but he goes past players with total ease!
Why not sign all 3? We need wingers/midfielders!
natedawg
Jun 19, 2008 at 10:51 AM
Comment #7will prob get injured during service lol
Spyro
Jun 19, 2008 at 10:59 AM
Comment #8Turan is out of the question now, galatasaray are trying to take the piss, they now want 16 million, neither us or arsenal will go for him now and i am happy as he is definitely not a 16 million player, he is not that good
Ian
Jun 19, 2008 at 11:03 AM
Comment #9natedawg, that is what I was thinking, if he suffers injuries when he is hardly on the pitch I wouldnt fancy his chances in a hail of bullets.
lets face it, he has a good life here, why would he be in a hurry to leave? Only if he was worried about no future in football.
Kash2
Jun 19, 2008 at 11:04 AM
Comment #10Agree that £16m is too steep for the kid, but £11m is about right imo. He’s definitely got bags of ability and potential, a much better player and prospect than Bentley (who’s valued at £13m) and only 21. So i’d be happy with £11m for him.
I really hope we sell Milner. I think we need to try and rid the squad of as much of the old regimes chaff as possible. I know Milner was a Bobby signing, but we need a fresh break, new start!
Ian
Jun 19, 2008 at 11:05 AM
Comment #11Spyro, it seems as if that is the going rate at the moment for that position player, or at least above £13m, who is available that is any good for decent money?
Spyro
Jun 19, 2008 at 11:05 AM
Comment #12sign zhirkov for 10 million instead
Spyro
Jun 19, 2008 at 11:07 AM
Comment #13ian 16 million is definitely not the going rate for a young winger.
Kash2
Jun 19, 2008 at 11:07 AM
Comment #14NewcastleMad are reporting on how Orlando Engelaar would be a STAR BUY for us. I totally agree with them. Saw him play for Holland while in Amsterdam last week. Spoke to quite a few dutch people in coffee shops, and they all rate him. They said he’s a late bloomer, but over the last 3 seasons has been consistently the best player by a mile for FC Twente. He’s absolutely huge as well, would be a welcome addition to our midfield!
Spyro
Jun 19, 2008 at 11:08 AM
Comment #15David Bentley is quality, English, and will probably be valued around 12 million, so why the hell should we pay 16million for a turkish winger who is not as good as him
Seymour Butts
Jun 19, 2008 at 11:16 AM
Comment #16Newcastle-Mad aaahh i hate that site! so pessimistic all the time and so annoying the way they write the articles. And hasn’t Engalaar just signed for shalke?????
xfer
Jun 19, 2008 at 11:35 AM
Comment #1716 mil is too high a price tag for Turan, agreed that 11mil should be max. I rate Arshavin alot more than Turan, and if we can get Arshavin for 11mil, i’ll be happy to leave Turan out in the summer.
If we can get quality player in, it’ll show others our intent, and possibly the chance of signing better players. The first signing is so important. Hopefully, its someone class.
Kash2
Jun 19, 2008 at 11:40 AM
Comment #18@Spyro: I didn’t say that £16m was reasonable. If you had read my comment, it suggested £11m for a younger player with more international experience would be maximum to pay. To be honest, Bentley only had 1 good season, now he’s ready to leave, probably back to London. With his lifestyle and gambling problems, he’ll be more of a headache than a revelation wherever he goes. Hopefully he’ll sort himself out and keep performing like he has been for club and country!
Faustino
Jun 19, 2008 at 11:48 AM
Comment #19Emre cant last 90 mins without tearing a hamstring. He’ll be lucky if he can get his boots on never mind last 21 days in naitonal service.
Davy C
Jun 19, 2008 at 12:00 PM
Comment #20Surely Emre will get out of National Service as he’s bound to fail the medical!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ross
Jun 19, 2008 at 12:01 PM
Comment #21the only army he should be joining is the turkish terrorist’s with arda in our midfield next season 😉
sadly, always injured, i doubt we’ll see either in our starting 11 next year, good luck to him.
geordiegraham
Jun 19, 2008 at 12:24 PM
Comment #22weve let emre go for the same price as shola frigin hell a fink we shud hav got at least 6 mil for him (emre that is lol)
Leo
Jun 19, 2008 at 12:52 PM
Comment #23that must be why he is injured so much u know, maybe we tried to ofload him during the summer and winter xfer windows and he gets injured so he doesnt go back to turkey till after the 3 years so he only has to do the 21days…
Matthew Tom
Jun 19, 2008 at 1:58 PM
Comment #24Definitely right to sell Emre. I was more excited about his arrival than most people, but apart from scoring the winner against the unwashed (for which he will have my love and admiration for ever) he hasn’t quite worked out with us.
As for Turan, I don’t see many wingers that get much better after the age of 22. I’d pay whatever it takes for him – if other clubs are willing to pay the price, then that’s the price. It comes down to how much we want quality in our team.
Will
Jun 19, 2008 at 3:43 PM
Comment #25Leo, exactly what i was thinkin mate!
Toon_Ksk
Jun 19, 2008 at 4:53 PM
Comment #26Strange, can’t playing football for the country be counted as national service?
clinta
Jun 20, 2008 at 1:34 AM
Comment #27I feel sorry for fenerbache, he’ll no doubt get a fresh injury during military service ha!
Merve
Jun 20, 2008 at 8:23 AM
Comment #28According to NTV spor- a respected channel over here- news, Galatasaray won’t be selling Arda but his contract will be revised as at the moment he gets 500.000 dollars a year.
Therefore the club didn’t set his price.
It is a relief for GS fans, of course..
But I really wonder if he can improve or not here in Turkey..
The Entertainers
Jun 20, 2008 at 8:28 AM
Comment #29Gala are saying all the right things.
When a club puts in a substantial bid, which they need and Arda states he feels he wants to go to the next level there will be only one outcome….i just hope thats a move to Newcastle.