Erzurumspor spent €7.5m on transfers

The Super Lig relegation battlers have spent approximately €7.5 million on transfers in January.

Erzurumspor’s incoming transfers during the mid-season transfer window cost them €7.5 million, according to the club’s president Huseyin Unes.

Speaking at a press conference held at the club’s facilities, the president revealed the club began conducting transfer talks on January 5.

Unes gave the reporters a breakdown of how much each transfer cost the club.

“The transfers of the players and their two-and-a-half year contracts cost us the following amounts; Pierre Kanstrup, €815,000. Rashad Muhammed, €1.535 million. Kristian Fardal Opseth, €1.275 million. Samuel Emem Eduok, €2.168 million and Gabriel Obertan, €1.705 million.

“We also added Serkan Kartulus for 225,000 Turkish lira for 6 months. The transfers cost us a total of €7.5 million of which we have paid 30% cash,” he explained.

The president also revealed Gabriel Obertan, the former Manchester United winger who signed from Levski Sofia, has a clause in his contract which will allow him to leave for the United States of America or Australia for free.

“Obertan wanted a clause that would allow him to leave for America or Australia for free if an offer came. Because his wife is American, he insisted on this clause. In exchange, we inserted a clause that, should an offer from a Turkish or European team come, we will receive a very serious transfer fee.”

Unes explained his administration are doing their best while taking into consideration a number of factors including the financial differences Erzurumspor faces.

“We tried to transfer players to and from Turkish and European clubs that we believe would strengthen our club. We took into consideration the wishes of our technical staff as well. We looked at the price for quality factor as well as how to sign the best players for the lowest fee. I believe we made the right transfers. They will strengthen our squad considerably.”

For the remainder of the season, the club will pay their players a total sum of 23 million Turkish lira in wages. As it stands, Erzurumspor have a total debt of approximately 40 million Turkish Lira.