After six years with Southampton, the wideman headed to Besiktas this season – alongside pal Dele Alli
INTERVIEW
You moved from Southampton to Besiktas at the start of September – Turkey’s transfer deadline was a few days after the English window shut. How did the move happen?
There was interest from English clubs, but it’s difficult when you’re working with so little time. We were waiting for one domino to fall, but it didn’t quite happen, and Besiktas had been interested during the summer – there was always this option if I wanted to play in Turkey. It was a whirlwind during those final 48 hours of the transfer window, but we got it done.
How did you feel about moving to a country so far from home?
It’s always something I’ve been open to. The biggest thing was they’re one of the top clubs in Turkey, and they’re in Istanbul. I’d heard great things from people like Cameron Jerome, Yannick Bolasie and Britt Assombalonga who had played in Turkey and come up against Besiktas at their stadium. My kids are quite young – they’re not in school yet, which makes it easier. The league is more competitive than a lot of people think. The perception is that players go to Turkey just to tick on into their final years, but I’m still only 28.
How did the fans welcome you?
Once they caught wind of the move, my social media accounts, and even my family’s, were all being hit with eagle emojis and black and white hearts. You could really feel the love. I’ve never heard a noise like it before at a football match, especially when we played Fenerbahce, Trabzonspor and Galatasaray away. Sometimes you can’t even hear your team-mates speaking to you on the pitch.
Dele Alli is a Besiktas team-mate. Are you two close?
We’ve been friends for a long time. Before this, we were speaking in the summer, just about life in general. It’s hard sometimes for someone of Dele’s stature, who’s been at the very top and been under a lot more scrutiny than others in the last five or six years. He’s had a lot of injuries - that’s definitely played a factor in his confidence and how he performs sometimes, but off the pitch he’s as normal as anyone. He enjoys playing Call of Duty. He loves playing football, and he loves training every day and trying to improve.
What changes did you notice when Senol Gunes took over from Valerien Ismael in October?
It was totally different. When I first joined, Valerien was in charge and he’d worked
at both West Brom and Barnsley – seven or eight of his staff were English, which helped
make that transition much easier. When he left, it became a Turkish regime, but the
boss ha
