Bursaspor chairman Ali Ay has claimed there is no issue with the loan agreement for Newcastle midfielder Henri Saivet despite a long delay in announcing the deal.
Saivet was pictured completing his medical with the Turkish Super Lig side last week, but the Bursa-based club are yet to officially announce the signing of the Senegal international.
Club chairman Ay has now given a major update on this unexplained delay, claiming that the club are planning a welcome ceremony for both Saivet and Istanbul Basaksehir striker Tunay Torun.
As quoted by the Chronicle in their live blog (Tuesday, 08:14), Ay said: “We are planning a signing ceremony for both Henri Saivet and Tunay Torun, the return of the festival will be a collective signing ceremony.”
OPINION
This news will come as a relief to Newcastle, who have been looking to offload Saivet all summer. A deal with Bursaspor has been touted for several weeks, and it looked to finally have been completed five days ago. However, no official announcement since then raised questions about a potential hold-up, questions which have now been answered. It seems strange for a club to hold back such an announcement for a signing ceremony, but as long as the deal does go through then there is no issue for Newcastle. It is thought that the Magpies will be subsidising Saivet’s wages during his time in Turkey, much like they did last season when he was loaned out to Sivasspor. His time at the club has been costly for the Magpies, with just eight first-team appearances made by Saivet over two whole seasons. This will be his third subsidised loan spell since his move to Tyneside, and the quicker they can get rid of him for good the better.
