Ghana's Ohene Kennedy is out

Sarr, who was loaned to Galatasary at the start of the season by AC Milan and played for the club in the Uefa Champions League, has returned to Italy.

His move to Turkey was intended to give the youthful defender some top flight experience but despite some initial rave reviews in Istanbul he failed to make a major impact.

The Ghanaian midfielder Ohene Kennedy was released by Adanaspor while veteran striker Fernand Coulibaly had his contract at Diyarbakirspor cancelled.

Coulibaly, the hero of Mali's team at the 1994 African Nations Cup finals in Tunisia where they were surprise semi-finalists, has spent almost a decade playing in Turkey.

Struggling Goztepespor have released Kalenga Ndiaye, the former Zairian international, and Ghanaian youngster Joseph Amoah.

Adepoju has a new lease of life

The only new African signings by Turkish clubs during the winter break were Nigerian veteran Mutiu Adepoju, who returns from a year in the wilderness to play for Samsunspor, and Congolese-born Ali Lukunku, who arranged his own move from Belgium to Galatasaray.

African footballers in Turkey
• Altayspor: Ghislain Lazare Chameni, Jean Emmanuel Effa Owona (Cameroon), Mfundo Mathonsi (South Africa)
• Ankaragucu: Augustine Ahinful, Stephen Baidoo (Ghana)
• Diyarbakirspor: Mohammed Youssef (Egypt), Saliou Diallo (Guinea)
• Elazigspor: Richard Kingston (Ghana)
• Fenerbache: Samuel Johnson (Ghana)
• Galatasaray: Ali Lukunku (DR Congo)
• Gaziantepspor: Yaw Preko (Ghana), Riadh Bouazizi (Tunisia)
• Genclerbirligi: Marcel Kibemba Mbayo (DR Congo), Abdelzaher El Saqqa, Ahmed Hassan (Egypt), Souleymane Youla (Guinea)
• Goztepespor: Helman Mkhalele (South Africa)
• Istanbulspor: Boukar Alioum, Alioum Saidou (Cameroon), Andre Kone Ngole (DR Congo), Uche Okechuwku (Nigeria)
• Malatayspor: Ayman Abdelaziz (Egypt)
• Samsunspor: Mutiu Adepoju, Ike Shoronmu (Nigeria)