Football Season Guide

Erzurumspor FK

In


Nihad Mujakic (def) Partizan; Kerem Erener (att) Erzurum BB SK; Ertugrul Taskiran (gk) Alanya; Enes Karakas (mid) free agent; Emre Erdem (def) Artvin Hopa-end of loan; Serkan Kose (att) SB Ankara-end of loan; Huseyin Mevlutoglu (att) Etimesgut SK-end of loan; Eren Ozdemir (mid), Gurkan Varlik (att) Tokat Belediye-end of loan;

Out


Giovanni Crociata (r)(mid) Igdir FK; Salih Sarikaya (def) Sakaryaspor; Cheikne Sylla (r)(att) Manisa FK; Gurkan Varlik (att), Huseyin Mevlutoglu (att), Kagan Moradaoglu (gk), Husamettin Yener (att), Serkan Kose (att), Firat Sasi (def) free agent; Benhur Keser (sp)(att) Caykur Rize-end of loan; Adem Eren Kabak (mid) Konyaspor-end of loan;

Erzurumspor return to the Super League after a long absence and their main strength will probably be the same as in their previous top-level experiences: home advantage. Playing conditions in Erzurum have always made away trips difficult for many opponents and collecting enough points at home could once again be decisive. Unlike Corum, they have not made a major rebuild so far. Their transfer activity looks more limited and the current squad may still need some important additions before the window closes. The most notable reinforcement is Nihad Mujakic. He knows Turkish football following his recent period at Gaziantep and should immediately become an important part of the defence. Salih Sarikaya left for Sakaryaspor while Emre Erdem returned from his loan period to increase the options. On the net, experienced Ertugrul Taskiran arrived from Alanyaspor. This looks like a useful move for a newly promoted side as having an experienced keeper could be very important in a survival battle. There are more question marks in midfield and offence. Giovanni Crociata left for Igdir while Adem Eren Kabak returned to Konyaspor. Enes Karakas was added as a free agent but they still seem to need more quality in the centre. In attack, Benhur Keser returned to Rizespor following the end of his loan period while Sylla joined Manisa. Several attacking players who returned from loans were also released. As a result, their offensive options look limited at the moment. It seems like the board have to bring at least a few new players, especially in midfield and offence. The defensive structure could be enough to keep them competitive in many fixtures but scoring goals regularly at Super League level looks like the biggest question mark.

Target


Survival will be the clear target. Their home performance should decide their fate but they need more offensive quality to increase their chances. The cup should not be a priority