European preview: Turkey

Shorunmu has fallen out with Besiktas

BBC Sport Online's Filippo Maria Ricci continues a regular series previewing the new season for African players in Europe's major leagues by focusing on Turkey's Super League

Turkey has kept its attraction for African players, despite the country's clubs having a history of defaulting on payments and falling out with foreign stars.

There are 30 Africans registered in the newly-named Super League, with the prospect of more to come, but difficulties are already surfacing.

Nigerian keeper Ike Shorunmu has reported Besiktas, where he has spent the last two seasons, to world governing body Fifa.

Shorunmu claims he is owed six months' money and alleges the club have insisted he does not play in the Nations Cup or World Cup finals.

Baya has left for Genoa

The biggest summer transfer is that of Tunisian midfielder Zoubeir Baya to Besiktas after four seasons at Freiburg, including over 100 Bundesliga matches.

Moroccan defender Jamal Sellami has left the club after three largely disappointing seasons to join newly-promoted Goztepespor.

Youla joins Cup winners

Hugely promising Guinean forward Souleymane Youla left Belgium, after a frustrating season on loan from Lokeren to Anderlecht, in search of regular football at surprise cup winners Genclerbirligi.

The Ankara-based team bought young Malian Oumar Dabo from Djoliba of Bamako to join South African midfielder Alfred Phiri, but Congolese striker Andre Kona Ngole has left.

The 31-year-old was joint top African scorer in Turkey last season with 15 goals (along with Mali's Fernand Coulibaly) and is the fourth-highest African scorer still playing, with 89 goals in Europe's top flights.

Tetteh is one of four Africans at Rizespor

All his strikers have come in Turkey and over three-quarters for Genclerbirligi, who have made a puzzling move in letting him go to promoted Diyarbakirspor, based in a mainly Kurdish city in the south-east.

Young Cameroon midfielder Benoit William Moukoko has joined Caykur Rizespor from Belgian second division side Dessel.

He will join compatriot George Mbida Messi, and strikers Fadel Keita (Ivory Coast) and Emmanuel Tetteh (Ghana).

Youngsters make move

Trabzonspor have moved for two promising youngsters in Ghana Under-20 star Patrick Villars, who played in the World Youth Championship final against Argentina, and Nigerian Augustin James.

Some big names have left, with Nigerian winger Tijani Babangida going back to Ajax and then on loan to Vitesse Arnhem after his loan at Genclerbirligi.

Babangida has gone back to Holland

Ghana striker Kwame Ayew is back in contention at Sporting Lisbon after scoring ten goals on loan at Yozgatspor and Zimbabwe midfielder Norman Mapeza has gone to Portsmouth from Altay Izmir via a loan spell at Austrian side SV Ried.

Tunisian international defender Khaled Badra has left Denizlispor to join two of his compatriots at Genoa in Italy's Serie B.

Three unsettled players have gone to the Belgian second division for regular football - Ghana's Robert Eshun from Gaziantepspor, CAR's Ibrahim Bohari from Antalyaspor and Ivorian Dominique Sam Abouo from relegated Slirt Jet Pa.

Some Africans certainly like Turkey, with South Africa's John Moshoeu at Bursaspor starting his ninth season, and Kona Ngole, Coulibaly (Denizlispor) and Nigeria's Uche Okechukwu in their eighth - the latter all at Fenerbahce.