Rubin Sign Tekke for the Summer

Fatih Tekke set to join Rubin in the summer

Fatih Tekke will move to Rubin Kazan this summer.

Rubin has announced on their official website that the club has signed the forward to a three-year contract effective upon the expiration of his current contract with Zenit St. Petersburg.

The 32-year-old striker had been linked with a move away from Zenit since the close of 2009. The early forerunner was his former club Trabzonspor, but over the last fortnight the Turkish club looked less-and-less likely to have the means to sign the player.

Rubin’s coach Gurban Berdiýew began to express interest in Tekke near the beginning of the year, and was perhaps able to sway Tekke with his strong record of eking out one or two “extra” years from veteran players—as well as his shared faith. While the club’s agreement to a three-year deal suggests the expectation of greater longevity—although not specified by Rubin, it is believed the third year is optional—it is still believed that at some point Tekke would like to return to Trabzonspor.

Tekke—who will arrive in time for Rubin’s next Champions League appearance–will serve as a partial replacement for Alejandro Domínguez, with his duties most likely to be in a supporting role for the Russian striker Aleksandr Bukarov. Tekke does also bring the ability to play as a lone striker, in the absence of Bukarov, having shown a consistent knack to score goals while with Zenit.

Tekke will become Rubin’s third Turkish player, joining countrymen Gökdeniz Karadeniz and Hasan Kabze.