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Emmanuel Dennis reveals Adebayor’s role in Istanbul Basaksehir move

 

SUPER Eagles forward Emmanuel Dennis has revealed the role played by former Togo striker Emmanuel Adebayor in his move to Istanbul Basaksehir.

The Nigeria international completed a season-long loan move to the Turkish Super Lig club yesterday from Nottingham Forest after falling out of favour at the Premier League side.

Adebayor, who has Nigerian heritage and speaks Yoruba fluently, played for Istanbul Basaksehir from 2017 to 2019.

It was during that spell that Dennis met the former Arsenal, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur striker.

“The first time I met the club (Istanbul Basaksehir) was when I played for Club Brugge against them in Champions League qualification. My big brother Emmanuel Adebayor also played in the game,” Dennis said in his first interview as an Istanbul Basaksehir player posted on the club’s website.

“We had a nice conversation after the game. He invited me later to Istanbul and we spent the whole day together. He told me nice stuff about the club and it stayed in my head.”

Six years after the Champions League match and the conversation with Adebayor, Dennis was given an offer from the Turkish club and he jumped at it.

“Recently I just received a message from my agent that this club was interested in me. I know it’s a nice place, I’m familiar with them. I’ve been to the stadium. I’ve had few friends play for them and they’ve told me good stories about the club,” the former Watford star added.

“So I said ‘yeah, why not?’ and decided to come to the club and I’m happy.

“The club has been doing really good in recent times. They’ve played like 50 European games, which is a lot and shows they’re growing.

“I spoke with my big brother Emmanuel Adebayor about the offer and he gave me positive feedback and I also had a good feeling.”

Dennis, 25, joined Forest in August last year for £14 million after an impressive season at Watford, who were relegated to the Championship.

He made 25 appearances for Forest in all competitions last season, 16 of them off the bench, and registered two goals and three assists.

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Naija Times