Barusso to shore up Galatasaray midfield

UEFA Cup contenders Galatasaray AS have signed Ghanaian midfield player Ahmed Apimah Barusso on loan from Italian outfit AS Roma until the end of the season.

Italian odyssey
The 23-year-old will head for Istanbul once Ghana's African Cup of Nations campaign is over, having been in Italy since joining lower league Manfredonia Calcio in 2003, helping them to win titles in Serie D and Serie C2. In 2006 he moved on to Rimini Calcio in Serie B, breaking his leg that October and requiring surgery on his fractured fibia and tibia. After a four-month absence, he returned and drew attention from scouts across Europe, and with his skills earning comparisons to compatriot Michael Essien, he joined Roma last summer.

Linderoth cover
The four-times capped Barusso made three league appearances and two more in the UEFA Champions League appearances for Roma in the autumn but he has been allowed to move on to Istanbul until the end of the season to help fill the gap left by an injury to Galatasaray's Swedish international Tobias Linderoth, who is suffering from a rare pelvic condition. Galatasaray meet Bayer 04 Leverkusen in the UEFA Cup Round of 32, playing the home leg on 13 February and the away leg at he BayArena eight days later.