Sergen Yalçın: Just wait a little

In the 20th week of the Trendyol Süper League, Beşiktaş defeated Konyaspor 2-1 at home. Beşiktaş manager Sergen Yalçın made statements at the press conference held after the match.

"I am thinking about the club's future, not my own"

Starting his remarks by pointing out that he prioritizes local players in the match squads, Yalçın said, "When I first joined the A-team, there was a 3-foreigner rule. That was 30 years ago, and today we are playing with 3 foreigners again. There is no one else in Turkey today playing with 8 Turkish players. Last week, we finished the Eyüpspor match with 9 Turkish players. One needs to look at this side of the business as well. Three of these players are from our academy. For us, these aspects are very important. I think it should be important for the community as well. When we look at our rivals, such a situation does not exist. Our job is not easy. We are going through a difficult process; things will not be easy for us. No coach would send away their center-forward during such a period. We are parting ways with players because it is in the club's best interest. I am trying to plan by thinking about the club's future, not my own."

"We will sign players if they are the ones we truly want"

Sergen Yalçın noted that playing these matches is not easy for them and that they are in the midst of a serious transformation, stating, "There are players who have left, and there are players we are still in talks with and might sign next week. We will sign players if they are the ones we truly want, but I do not want to tie up the club's next 2-3 years. I am considering making transfers if they will be beneficial. There are players for whom we have been quoted very serious figures, around 15-20 million Euros. We are trying to do serious planning. We are working on it; mid-season transfers are not easy. But we are considering adding players to the team who will contribute and be part of our future planning."

"I advise our fans to be constructive"

Stating that he does not find the occasional reactive chants from fans toward Ersin Destanoğlu to be healthy, the 53-year-old manager said, "He is a player who came from our academy and protected our goal during the championship season. I advise our fans to be constructive, especially toward young players. We are playing with 19-year-old Mustafa and 18-year-old Devrim. I am trying to develop them and include them in our future planning, but no one should worry, it will happen. We might lose matches, but the Beşiktaş community will reach where it wants to be. No one should have any doubts. We prioritize the club's interests over our own. It was a difficult match. Our players showed character to turn the game around."

"This place will become the team the fans want, but just wait a little"

Addressing the transfer process and noting that there is no disagreement between the management, the technical staff, and the scouting team, Sergen Yalçın said, "We have been scouting players for three months with our scouting team. I have watched more players than I ever have in my life. It is not a job I particularly enjoy. The players we are trying to acquire are either young or experienced. You sign experienced players for the center-back and forward positions, while we look for young talent for other areas. There are players we couldn't sign even after offering 20 million Euros. No one wants to let go of their active players. We also do not want to sign players who have been discarded by their clubs. The Abraham situation was something initiated by Serkan Reçber. Serkan said, 'Aston Villa is interested, I will handle this.' It aligned with the club's interests. The negotiations lasted a month and a half. I also want good players to arrive and to build a tough team. I would also like to win and play comfortably. But this is our current squad. Our players are showing character and fighting. Asslani had played 150 matches without a red card, and he gets one in five minutes. These things happen in football. Maybe 2-3 players will arrive next week, and you will ask how we signed them. You have to wait. Our fans are impatient; they want transfers and they want victories. I want that too, but the game doesn't work that way. I have been saying since I arrived that it would take 3-4 transfer windows. This place will become the team the fans want, but just wait a little."

"The community is impatient and wants results"

Pointing out that the fans' show of affection for him is flattering, Yalçın said, "But they should do the same for Ersin. The Beşiktaş fan base is a great one; they support their players. There are good days and bad days in this. From now on, they will support their players too. I have no doubt about that. The community is impatient and wants results. You haven't heard the word 'championship' from me since the day I arrived. The time to hear that will come. Our goal is to win every match we play."

"Mustafa is a player with a very bright future"

Regarding the performance of Mustafa Erhan Hekimoğlu, the experienced coach said, "Mustafa is a player with a very bright future. If we can get his physical strength back, he will reach great heights. He might become the most expensive player ever sold by Beşiktaş. We trust him that much. I am playing him even though he is not fully ready right now. The Beşiktaş community needs to embrace Mustafa as soon as possible. In our planning, he is one of our leading players."

"I have never seen a player like Rafa Silva in my life"

Stating that the club made a profit of nearly 20 million Euros by selling Rafa Silva, Sergen Yalçın added:

"The Rafa Silva case is a more serious incident than the Aboubakar case. I have never seen a player like Rafa in my life. Imagine a player, the most expensive player on the team, suddenly saying, 'I won't play and I won't come to training.' We couldn't do anything about it, and we can't even explain it. People say, 'You couldn't manage him.' How do you know? Were you there with us? It was difficult to manage such a situation. We did the best thing by selling him. The club made a profit of nearly 20 million from Rafa. This has cleared our path for the future. We called him in and talked; I told him, 'You are our best player.' I said things I almost didn't believe myself, but it still didn't work out."