Gençlerbirligi strengthen defence

UEFA Cup hopes
The Ankara club have signed right-back Ali from Denizlispor on a two-year contract and central defender Baki on a three-year contract from English club Sunderland AFC. Ali enjoyed a run in the UEFA Cup with Denizlispor last season and is hoping for more of the same at his new club.

'A club with ambition'
"I have come to a club where there is a good administration in place and the right people," he said. "Gençlerbirligi are a club with ambition. These are the main reasons why I chose to come here."

Reunited with coach
The move reunites him with Ersun Yanal, Gençlerbirligi's newly installed coach, who had a spell coaching at Denizlispor. Baki, meanwhile, joins after a frustrating two-year spell at Sunderland where he did not play a single first-team match.

Dutch link
Instead he spent eight months of last season on loan to Dutch club Stormvogels Telstar. "Everybody showed a great interest in me here," he said on arriving in Ankara. "I believe I can be helpful to the team." The 20-year-old was born in Amsterdam and began his career with Haarlem FC yet has Turkish citizenship.