Papiss Cisse is unfazed by the competition at Fenerbahce, insisting that will propel him to compete for a place in the Yellow Canaries’ squad.
The 35-year-old reunited with his former boss Erol Bulut at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium after two seasons at Alanyaspor – where he scored 42 goals in 65 games.
At Fenerbahce, he will battle Tanzania's Mbwana Samatta, Enner Valencia, Mame Thiam, Sinan Gumus and Kemal Ademi for first-team action, a challenge the Newcastle United man is ready to take on.
"From my point of view, it is gratifying to have such a competition. Because I'm a competitive player,” Cisse told the club website.
“I'm a player who believes that there should be this competition in order to thrive. If there's competition, it'll make you work more.
“It's important to have this competition for the good of the team. If you're a striker, you must have a sense of competition.
“I have no fear or concern for myself. We're going to try to accomplish something together. Hopefully, Fenerbahce's work will be easier in this sense.”
Fenerbahce is the seventh club the former Senegal international has played for after stints in his home country, France, Germany and China. Cisse said the decision to join Bulut’s team was not a difficult one.
"Fenerbahce is too big a club to refuse. I'm very happy and proud to be here. From my point of view, the transfer process went pretty well,” he continued.
“I also got offers from different clubs, but for me it was more important to choose Fenerbahce in this respect this choice was easy for me.
“Fortunately, I am a football player of Fenerbahce. The team's doing just fine. The players within the team are really extraordinary players. Together, we will do our best to show the best and try to achieve our goal.
“I had a meeting with our technical director Erol Bulut and Emre Belozoglu. This communication ended in a very positive way. Fenerbahce is a very big club and I was intrigued by the goals it has. There is no need to discuss Fenerbahce's goals. So I'm here as a result of these negotiations.”
After playing six games without a goal, the veteran striker will be hoping to open his goal account against Goztepe on October 18.
After eight points from four games in the 2020-21 Turkish Super Lig campaign, Fenerbahce are second in the log.
