“We were following Ozan Can Kokcu’s performances in the Azerbaijan national team and the matches he played in the Netherlands. The fact that he is Turkish also increased our interest. We have been wanting to transfer him for about two years, and finally, we achieved our goal.”
elchi reports that the head coach of the Turkish First League representative “Vanspor”, Murat Yildirim, said this in a statement to Teleqraf while talking about the transfer of Ozan Can Kokcu.
The expert spoke about the 27-year-old midfielder being signed to the team on a two-year contract.
According to Yildirim, Ozan’s transfer was not easy to complete:
“Ozan Can Kokcu is a player we have been following for a long time; he is a member of the national team of our brother country, Azerbaijan. In addition, his brother Orkun Kokcu also plays for the Turkish national team. Therefore, we know Ozan well. Their playing styles are also similar. We needed a player in our squad with European and national team experience. I had left after we promoted the team back to the First League last season, but I returned this season. After returning, I informed the management about Ozan and stated that we should transfer him. We worked hard for this. The negotiations were quite intense. Ozan Can is the type of player we want. He can play in various positions in midfield – in the center, on the wing, and in other roles. Since he is a quality player, we believe he will be of great benefit to our team. That is why we made our first transfer with Ozan Can Kokcu.”
The head coach also shared his expectations from the Azerbaijan national team member:
“We have closely analyzed Ozan Can’s dynamism on the field, his athleticism, his vision of the game, and his character. Our expectation from him is to show leadership both on and off the field. We want him to support the team on the path to the difficult goals we have set. We talked to him last night as well. Our main goal is to reach the play-off stage. We believe he will make a great contribution to us on this path, and we expect a lot from him.”
Murat Yildirim stated that they are also monitoring players from the Azerbaijani clubs “Sabah”, “Qarabag”, and “Araz-Nakhchivan”:
“We will make a decision regarding them in the coming period. There are indeed quality players, and we are preparing reports about them. Among the players we are monitoring are both Azerbaijanis and legionnaires. Currently, we are keeping an eye on 3-4 more players, but we have not made a final decision yet.
We are closely following the Azerbaijan Premier League. Yesterday, we also watched a player from Qarabag. If conditions are suitable in the coming days, we may take official steps regarding transfers in the following weeks.”
The head coach answered the question about whether the player in question was Elvin Jafarguliyev as follows: “Elvin Jafarguliyev is a good player, but we primarily consider the deficiencies in the team. We will try to transfer players suitable for the positions where we have needs.”
It should be recalled that Ozan Can Kokcu last wore the jersey of the Dutch club “Volendam”.