TUNCAY SANLI joined in his first training session with his new Middlesbrough team-mates in Austria yesterday, with manager Gareth Southgate shocked by the crowds in attendance to witness it.
Tuncay flew straight to Boro's training camp in Austria from his Turkish homeland on Tuesday, rather than travel from Teesside with the rest of the squad.
And, after scoring an excellent goal in front of his new colleagues in Bad Waltersdorf, the 25-year-old has spoken of the welcome he was given from the Middlesbrough players on his first official day.
"I want to be successful in Middlesbrough and I am sure I will be," said Tuncay, whose first session also resulted in him receiving a booking from assistant manager Malcolm Crosby.
"My new team-mates are great, they have all played a part in helping me settle in quickly. They have helped me even though I have a little bit of a problem with the language. The language of football is common throughout the whole of the squad. That helps."
Around 20 journalists were in Austria to witness Tuncay's first training session, with Southgate claiming it was akin to the day when Paul Gascoigne signed for Middlesbrough.
And on Saturday, when Boro play their first pre-season game against Schalke, there is expected to be a decent crowd at Bad Radkersburg.
Some fans from Teesside have made the trip to Austria, but there will be a heavy presence of Turks at the match.
Both Fenerbahce, the club Tuncay left on a free, and Besiktas are in Austria and supporters of both clubs are expected to make the trip to see their country's golden boy make his bow in a Boro shirt.
It is beyond pre-season that the striker is looking to, however. He is targeting more important European games with Middlesbrough in the future.
"When I first started training yesterday I was very excited but I am a professional player and I soon got used to it," said Tuncay.
"I am very happy and I wanted to come to this club so I'm really looking forward to the challenge.
"My aim was to play in Europe one day and I have done that in previous seasons. It is also very important for me to play in the Premier League, that too is going to happen. But I want to get Middlesbrough back into Europe."
Tuncay trained with Ayegbeni Yakubu yesterday, although they may not start the new season alongside one another, with Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp set to make another effort to land the multi-million pound striker.
Redknapp is hoping to land a forward, currently based in Spain, for less than Boro want for Yakubu, but he is likely to return for the Nigerian if he fails to land his man.
Redknapp has confirmed he is still looking to add one more striker to his ranks before the start of the season on August 11, despite concluding a deal for Preston's David Nugent.
Nugent, after taking too long to accept an offer to sign for Sunderland, completed a £6m switch from North End yesterday after passing a medical at Fratton Park.
Middlesbrough want £12m for Yakubu after being rebuffed in their attempts to secure Pompey midfielder Gary O'Neil as part of the deal, but could be willing to accept less.
Portsmouth face competition from Manchester City, where Sven Goran Eriksson views Yakubu as the ideal strike partner for Rolando Bianchi, on the verge of a move from Reggina.
If Yakubu does depart, Southgate will hope to have made inroads towards his replacement, having already been told that Alan Smith is reluctant to move to the Riverside.
Former Inter Milan striker Mohamed Kallon, 27, claims he is within Middlesbrough's radar, although Derby, Fulham and Wigan are all weighing up a £1.5m swoop for a player once suspended for six months after testing positive for the banned steroid nondrolone.
Source:wires
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