Bakasetas enjoying the time of his life in Turkey 

In his debut Turkish campaign, Tasos Bakasetas has been a leading light for Alanyaspor, producing productive performances and scoring crucial goals.

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Bakasetas has been a revelation in Turkey. In the summer, the 26-year-old was allowed to leave for a reported by AEK, with the Athens-based club agreeing to sell him to Alanyaspor of the Turkish Super Lig for a reported sum of 700,000 euros. While his effort on the pitch was always noted, Bakasetas was often criticized by supporters of both AEK and national team for his lack of end product and quality, and he rapidly became a scapegoat for Greece’s struggles on the international stage.

Bakasetas, though, has subsequently proved his doubters horribly wrong.

So far, with 28 appearances across all competitions under his belt, Bakasetas has contributed with 10 goals and five assists for Alanyaspor. Impressive numbers for a player who seemed to be heading on a downward spiral at AEK in the 2018/2019 season.

Last season, in stark comparison, Bakasetas only managed to tally six goals and three assists with the Enosi.

Bakasetas has flourished playing as a second striker behind Papiss Cisse. Having immediately gained the trust of the Alanyaspor head coach Erol Bulut, the Greek has been playing with plenty of confidence throughout the entire campaign, linking up well with Cisse and wingers Djalma Campos, formerly of PAOK, and Efecan Karaca. The fact that fellow Greeks Georgios Tzavellas and Manolis Siopis are also on Alanyaspor’s books certainly helped Bakasetas quickly adapt to living and playing in Turkey.

Siopis, incidentally, has also been a vital cog of the Alanyaspor machine since arriving from Aris in the off-season.

Bakasetas’ goals have been crucial for an Alanyaspor side which is still in the Super Lig title race and in the hunt for the Turkish Cup. In late August, Bakasetas’ first marker for his new employers arrived in a 4-1 thrashing of Kasimpasa, as he opened the scoring in Alanya. Later on, he scored twice in a 3-0 cup win against Inegolspor, before he netted a decisive away goal at Kasimpasa in the Last 16 of the same tournament and subsequently scored a stunner to help beat Galatasaray in the quarter-finals:

Bakasetas’ fantastic form hasn’t been limited to club level either. In the concluding UEFA Euro 2020 qualifiers, Bakasetas was a star performer for the Greek national team, particularly playing brilliantly during a memorable 2-1 triumph over Bosnia and Herzegovina at the Olympic Stadium in Athens. His pinpoint passing, ability to switch the play and successfully link up with teammates Petros Mantalos, Dimitris Limnios and Vangelis Pavlidis was noticed by head coach John van ‘t Schip, who will surely continue to use Bakasetas in future games. The transformation in his level of performance since he made the jump to Alanyaspor has been quite startling.

Transfermarkt now values Bakasetas at 2.6 million euros. His contract at Alanyaspor is due to run until the summer of 2022. 

The next challenge for Bakasetas is maintaining this superb form until the end of the season. In the coming weeks, Alanyaspor will face Sivasspor, Besiktas, Basaksehir and Trabzonspor in hugely important Super Lig matches, while the team also try to defeat Antalyaspor over two legs in their bid to famously qualify for the Turkish Cup final. Alanyaspor currently trail league leaders Trabzonspor by five points and fourth-placed Sivasspor by three. The teams in the leading four positions will qualify for European competition.

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