Cakmak: Onyekuru Not Dropped, Performance Will Decide Role

Gençlerbirliği president Arda Çakmak has moved to end speculation surrounding Henry Onyekuru’s status ahead of the club’s Super League clash with Galatasaray.

Reports in recent days suggested that the Nigerian forward had been left out of the squad for Saturday’s match, but Çakmak dismissed the claims in an interview with Lig Radio.

‘Speculation is increasing before such matches. Reports that Onyekuru has been left out of the squad are not true. As the management, we do not have such a decision. There is a preference situation depending on the performance of the player,’ he explained.

The president also underlined the club’s determination to secure survival in the league.

‘We, as Gençlerbirliği, will definitely stay in the league. We have no other thoughts than this. We want to collect enough points in the remaining matches. The way to do this is to go into every match to win,’ Çakmak said, adding that the team’s identity has always been defined by competing strongly in big games.

He further clarified the situation with coach Okan Buruk, stressing unity and long-term planning. “We have no problems with our coach. We are together until the end of the season. We are even planning the next season with him. We want to work together for a long time.’