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Okan commits to Bursaspor

Turkish international striker Okan Yilmaz has signed a two-year contract extension with Bursaspor.

Okan Yilmaz has signed a two-year contract extension with Bursaspor.

Persuaded to stay
The Turkish international striker turned down offers from a number of sides around Europe to remain at his current club, having been persuaded to stay by the appointment of former Romanian international Gheorghe Hagi as coach.

'Very important player'
"Okan is a very important player for us," said new Bursaspor president Fikret Üstenci. "The captain did not leave the ship and decided to stay at his post." In turn, Okan thanked all the Bursaspor board members for their efforts to keep him. "I have rejected big-money offers," he said. "The board tried very hard to persuade me to stay and I want to repay their trust in me in the best possible way."

Scoring spree
The 25-year-old joined Bursaspor in 1997 and has scored 78 goals in 148 games for the Bursa-based club, finishing as the league's top scorer in 2000/01 and again last season. Okan made his international debut in Turkey's UEFA EURO 2004™ qualifying game against F.Y.R. Macedonia on 11 June, and scored three goals in the recent FIFA Confederations Cup.