Turkey call on Bursaspor starlet

Turkey coach Hami Mandıralı has named a 22-man squad for the UEFA European Under-21 Championship play-off against Belarus, finding a place for Bursaspor's young man of the moment Sercan Yıldırım.

Breakthrough
The 18-year-old has scored four goals in as many games for a Bursaspor side lying second in the Süper Lig – enough to convince Mandıralı of his value. Turkey, the qualifying Group 2 winners, face Belarus in Antalya on 10 October, then again in Gradski four days later, for a ticket to next summer's final round in Sweden. Fenerbahçe SK's 20-year-old keeper, Volkan Babacan, is also included having made his first two top-flight appearances last month, replacing the Istanbul club's injured No1 Volkan Demirel. Galatasaray AŞ defensive duo Serkan Kurtuluş and Alparslan Erdem are two other U21 players to have been blooded in recent weeks.

Turkey squad
Goalkeepers: Volkan Babacan (Fenerbahçe SK), Ufuk Ceylan (Manisaspor), Onur Recep Kıvrak (Trabzonspor).

Defenders: Ahmet Arı (Gaziantepspor), Serkan Kurtuluş (Galatasaray AŞ), Aykut Demir (R. Excelsior Mouscron), Eren Güngör (Kayserispor), Emre Özkan (Beşiktaş JK), Orhan Şam (Hacettepe Spor), Alparslan Erdem (Galatasaray AŞ), Ferhat Öztorun (Manisaspor).

Midfielders: Barış Memiş (Trabzonspor), Serdar Özkan (Beşiktaş JK), Abdullah Durak (Kayserispor), Mehmet Güven (Galatasaray AŞ), Özer Hurmacı (Ankaraspor AŞ), Jem Paul Karacan (Reading FC), Aydın Karabulut (Beşiktaş JK), Umut Koçin (Kayserispor).

Forwards: Mehmet Batdal (Bucaspor), Mustafa Pektemek (Gençlerbirliği SK), Sercan Yıldırım (Bursaspor).