Galatasaray

Galatasaray hope to sign Chelsea playmaker Cesc Fabregas on a free transfer next summer, according to Turkish source Sozcu (h/t Emre Sarigul of Turkish-Football.com).

Fabregas is said to want to move on in search of more playing time, with Galatasaray hoping he's not offered a new contract by the Blues. It would mean the 31-year-old would be available for nothing once this season ends.

Letting Fabregas go on a free would be bordering on reckless by Chelsea. The Spaniard is still one of the more astute passers in England's top flight:

His eye for a defence-splitting pass has made Fabregas a record-breaker:

Fabregas has showcased his vision and intelligence to help Chelsea win two Premier League titles, although he's been a bit performer since acting as the creative fulcrum for Jose Mourinho's team in 2014/15.

Mourinho's successor, Antonio Conte, often favoured a two-man central midfield featuring destroyers Nemanja Matic and N'Golo Kante. Conte left the club this summer to be replaced by Maurizio Sarri, a manager whose progressive tactics should suit Fabregas.

Sarri likes his teams to move the ball quickly and incisively between the lines. His preference for keeping things neat and tidy on the deck, known as "Sarriball," could be the catalyst for reviving Fabregas' career at Stamford Bridge.

Instead, the former Arsenal and Barcelona star has made just three starts in all competitions. In fairness to Fabregas, he has impressed when he's been given chances.

He was in fine form during the 2-1 win away to Liverpool in the 2018 Carabao Cup back in September, with Football.London's Rob Guest saying it was "hard to tell he's been missing through injury after a positive performance."

Fabregas still has the ability to be a major asset for Chelsea's free-flowing brand of football, yet Sarri appears unconvinced since he's signed Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic and restored Ross Barkley to the starting XI to ensure creativity in midfield.

Chelsea aren't lacking for playmakers, but Sarri would be wise to reconsider Fabregas' status. He can still make the Blues tick in this season's title race.

Wesley Sneijder has been released from his contract with Galatasaray, freeing up the Dutch midfielder to continue his career with a different club.

Goal's Tom Maston reported the news.

The 33-year-old moved to Istanbul in 2013 after a successful spell with Inter Milan and led Galatasaray to two Turkish league titles. The Yellow-Reds have struggled since the 2014-15 campaign, however.

The timing of the Netherlands international's departure comes as a shock―earlier this week, fans thought he reassured them rumours of a move were unfounded when he tweeted this:

Even at the age of 33, Sneijder remains an excellent option as an attacking midfielder. He led the Turkish league in assists last season with 15 and added five goals, showing no signs of slowing down.

As a free agent, he could be a tremendous value signing for a number of clubs in Europe, or he could opt to take his talents to the MLS, as so many veteran players have done before him.

Galatasaray announced on Monday that forward Umut Bulut's father was among those killed in Sunday's terror attack on the Turkish capital of Ankara.

According to Goal.com's Jon Fisher, the club released a statement naming Kemal Bulut as one of the 37 victims killed:

Our capital was shaken by the fatal attack which targeted innocent people yesterday evening and we have once again been devastated by the news we received this morning.

We have learned with sorrow that Umut Bulut's father Kemal Bulut was one of the people to lose their lives. The club and the players offer their condolences to Umut Bulut and his family. The pain is very great.

As Fisher reported, the attack is thought to have been carried out by two suicide bombers. The BBC reported over 100 people were injured.

The club reiterated their condolences to Bulut's father on their official Twitter feed:

Turkish-Football.com shared a photo of the pair:

Umut Bulut would have been celebrating his birthday tomorrow but instead he will be burying his father #Ankara pic.twitter.com/XHagcViQTy

— Turkish-Football.com (@Turkish_Futbol) March 14, 2016

Selahattin Baki, a congress member for rival club Fenerbahce and a Sheffield United board member, also offered his condolences:

The explosion, the result of a car bomb in Guven Park, which is close to the Department of Defence in the Kizilay district of Ankara, follows a bombing in February that claimed the lives of 28 people.

It is the third attack on the city in the last six months, with over 100 people killed in a blast in October.

Turkish giants Galatasaray have been banned from competing in all European competitions by UEFA for one season, effective upon qualification within the next two seasons.

UEFA confirmed the ban on Wednesday with a statement on their website in which it’s noted the club will not be allowed to compete in the Europa League or the Champions League in 2016-17 if they were to qualify via domestic competition. However, if they were to miss out, the ban would be carried over into the 2017-18 season.

“The Turkish club has also been ordered to limit the overall aggregate cost of the employee benefits expenses of all its players in each of the next two reporting periods (i.e. the reporting period ending in 2016 and the reporting period ending in 2017),” continued the statement.

The Turkish-Football.com Twitter feed thinks that the sanctions may actually come as a blessing in disguise for the club, as it will trigger an overdue change in mentality:

Getting banned from European football for one-year could be one of the best things to happen to Galatasaray in recent years

— Turkish-Football.com (@Turkish_Futbol) March 2, 2016

Unfortunately Turkish football clubs will/won't/refuse to change unless forced. Galatasaray have to wake up & smell the coffee now

— Turkish-Football.com (@Turkish_Futbol) March 2, 2016

This season, Galatasaray competed in the Champions League, although they were eliminated from their group, containing Atletico Madrid and Benfica, after finishing third.

It meant the club moved into the Europa League, although in their first knockout match in European football’s second-tier competition, they were beaten by Italian outfit Lazio by a 4-2 aggregate scoreline.

Galatasaray are currently languishing in fifth in the Super Lig in what's been a hugely disappointing campaign; they trail league leaders Fenerbahce by 16 points. They would need to finish in the top four to secure European qualification and currently trail fourth-place Istanbul BB by two points.

Former Arsenal striker Lukas Podolski was more successful at ingratiating himself with his club's fans through social media posts than he was in terms of on-field exploits during his time in north London.

He infamously tweeted that "Hell would freeze over" before he joined fierce rivals Tottenham.

Today's Champions League draw gave him the chance to do it all again with his new club when the Champions League draw pitted his Galatasaray against Kazakh club Astana. 

The German forward tweeted a movie poster image from the Sacha Baron Cohen satire Borat, with the tag "can't wait."

Podolski has a knack for hitting the right nerve with his tweets, though he may not have a future as a diplomat. 

Keep it up, Poldi. 

Most of the time, nothing a footballer is selling would surprise you, and yet every once in a while, something will happen like Wesley Sneijder releasing his own set of Galatasaray-coloured knives to change your mind.

Perhaps it's just the use of the word "finally" in the tweet, as if everyone has been cooking food, looking at their knife drawer and thinking how much they need a Netherlands international's themed set in their lives. 

"FINALLY" http://t.co/hhFXhGrjda pic.twitter.com/duGuKIOGBw

— Bleacher Report UK (@br_uk) April 4, 2015

But Sneijder's tweet was soon deleted, perhaps because of the reaction from Leeds United fans, who found it highly insensitive.

April 5 marks the 15th anniversary of violent clashes between the two sets of fans in Turkey, which resulted in the death of two Leeds fans by stabbing, as a BBC report from the time documents.

Although the tweet has gone, the product remains available to buy on the website. 

[Twitter]

Cesare Prandelli has only been in charge of Galatasaray since July but may already be under pressure to save his job. 

According to Enis Koylu of Goal.com, the former Italian national team manager might be relieved of his duties due to club president Unal Aysal's announcement that he won't run for re-election on October 25. A new era could mean the end of Prandelli's stint in Istanbul.

However, given the side's performances in the Champions League so far, the 57-year-old coach might be sacked due to some sloppy showings.

In the post-match press conference after Wednesday's match, Prandelli tried to ease the pressure by claiming that the new formation is to blame for the heavy defeat:

I had to make some decisions and the main thing is that we tried to pick quality in the middle and at the back.

It is my responsibility—it is a new system and the players are trying to do what I asked of them.

Unfortunately tonight it was not enough of a performance.

Arsenal played wider than we thought and Felipe Melo had to play one against one on many occasions. In the second half we changed our system. 

Prandelli started with a three-man defense with Melo playing centrally in the back line, but Melo could have been sent off due to an awful challenge on Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez.

The Italian tactician signed a slew of players in the transfer market, most notably Goran Pandev and Blerim Dzemaili from Napoli, who have played in a similar system in the past with the Partenopei.

Despite those acquisitions, the 3-5-2 hasn't caught on by the looks of Gala's results. Galatasaray currently lie in fifth place in the Turkish Super Lig table, but they're just three points back of league-leaders Akhisar Belediye.

The Istanbul-based club could still claw back some points and make a run for the domestic title, but their situation in the Champions League is grim. Galatasaray is last place in Group D with just one point after two games so far.

That won't please Prandelli given the expectations he had for his team when he was hired.

"Our target is very clear—we want to win the domestic title and progress into the later stages of the UEFA Champions League," said Prandelli in his introductory press conference back in July.

Galatasaray has two crucial matches against Borussia Dortmund in their next couple of fixtures. For the Turkish giants to have any hope of progressing to the round of 16, they'll need to pick up a win in either game.

If the Aslan are still lagging behind the top two teams in their group after the Dortmund matches, Prandelli could be axed.

However, it's still slightly early to judge the former Azzurri boss. It takes time to get used to a new manager, especially with international breaks and travel getting in the way of training and competitive matches.

Regardless, the squad's failure to adjust to Prandelli's system might not keep him safe for very long. If the failures continue in the Champions League, that could cost the Italian his job before a new club president is elected.

Galatasaray have officially revealed Cesare Prandelli as their new manager, replacing Roberto Mancini with his fellow Italian, reported by the club's website and via Eurosport:

Prandelli takes over right after leading a disappointing Italy campaign at the 2014 World Cup. Despite beating England during their group opener, the Azzurri failed to qualify for the knockout stages after suffering back-to-back defeats against Costa Rica and Uruguay.

In the immediate aftermath of the final clash, Prandelli resigned, reported by BBC Sport. This is the 56-year-old's first job outside the realm of Italian football, where he played for teams including Atalanta and Juventus, and managed the likes of Parma, Roma and Fiorentina among others.

A stint in Turkey certainly represents a different challenge for the experienced boss. Used to competing for European places at best in Serie A, Prandelli can now set his sights on a first domestic top-flight title win as a coach. His only managerial silverware thus far remains the 1998-99 Serie B championship with Verona, with Italy's second-place finish at Euro 2012 the closest he has come since.

Prandelli's Istanbul arrival ensures former Manchester United manager David Moyes is still looking for work. He was reported to be in talks with the Galatasaray hierarchy, per BBC Sport, but it seems the experienced Scot wasn't deemed the right man to lead a side that aims to wrestle the Turkish title back from Fenerbahce next campaign.

The two clubs currently lead the way for domestic-league wins and are joined together at 19 each after Fenerbahce's latest triumph.

Giancarlo Rinaldi, writer at Football Italia, indicated Prandelli's move may be defined by financial gain rather than footballing challenge:

Prandelli will be hoping to outlast Mancini's nine-month spell in charge, a tenure that yielded a Turkish Cup triumph for the capital-based side. Expectations are certainly high for the new boss, who will be given minimal leeway if trophies aren't added to the club's crammed cabinet.

The new manager's first job may be to ensure Galatasaray keep hold of Wesley Sneijder, who is currently linked with a move away by Sky Sports. Prandelli will also need to replace the outgoing Didier Drogba in a time of change at the Turk Telecom Arena.