Basaksehir coach explains Adebayor absence

The Togo international has started on the bench in all but one game so far this season.

Istanbul Basaksehir spoke to Turkish news outlet A Spor on Friday and answered a number questions regarding his team including his decision to keep former Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor on the bench.

“There’s no trouble with communication between me and Adebayor. I’ve been at this club for 12 years. He told me ‘You will thank me when you leave’. And so I explained to him why I don’t play him.

“He is a player who was sick at the beginning of the season, didn’t play a friendly game in pre-season and against Burnley played just 25 minutes. Due to age, injuries, lack of pre-season games, there may be physical issues. Adebayor is a high quality player but sometimes you need to stay in the center when playing against opponents. He is a player who loves to move around and run with the ball.

“In a 4-3-3 formation he can wander off during games. We gave Bajic the opportunity for 7 games and Adebayor patched up his deficiencies and made good progress. We started the Alanyaspor game with him. Just like everyone, he may find opportunities in the second half of the season. But we didn’t have a problem,” Avci explained.

With Robinho now in the picture, Adebayor’s chances of playing could be reduced even further.