Lincoln City have added another highly-rated young player to the squad, with 20-year-old Turkish midfielder Yunus Emre Konak arriving on loan from Premier League Brentford.
The defensive midfielder has been a long-term target for the Imps, with sporting director Jez George revealing that Konak was the club’s number one choice for the position throughout the summer. He arrives with Championship experience already under his belt, having spent the second half of last season on loan at Oxford United, where he made 16 appearances in all competitions.
Konak began his career with Sivasspor and broke into their first team as a 17-year-old during the 2023/24 campaign. He made 17 Süper Lig appearances before Brentford brought him to England in January 2024, reportedly paying around €4.5 million for his services. He subsequently made 14 senior appearances for the Bees, including ten in the Premier League, before heading to Oxford midway through last season.
The Turkey Under-21 international is primarily a number six, giving City another option at the base of midfield as they continue building a squad for their first Championship campaign in more than six decades. His description of his own game perhaps offers the clearest indication of why the Imps have been so determined to bring him to Sincil Bank.
“I’m excited to get started, meet everyone and help the team have a successful season,” he said.
“Lincoln City is the right fit for me. I liked everything they have shown me and I’m very happy to be here.
“I’m very aggressive. I love to tackle and I love to fight for the team. I like to give everything on the pitch.
“I really like it when the fans create a good atmosphere in the stadium, and I’m really looking forward to playing in front of our fans because I have been told everything about them.
“I’m really excited to be here, and I can’t wait to meet all the fans. I’ll give everything for the club, 100%, on and off the pitch.”
There has been plenty of talk throughout the summer about City being prepared to wait for the right players, rather than simply filling spaces in the squad, and George’s comments make it clear Konak falls firmly into that category. The Imps moved early to establish their interest, then maintained contact while Brentford decided upon the best next step for the midfielder.
“Yunus has been our No. 1 target all summer to add in this position, having followed his impact at Oxford United in the Championship during the second half of last season.
“As a No.6, we feel as though all his out-of-possession attributes fit perfectly to our game model and that we can help him to develop some of his other qualities in how we play with the ball.
“We have massive respect for Brentford, their staff, their methodology and their culture, so we are absolutely delighted to have agreed this loan with them and that they also see us as such a good fit for Yunus.”
The deal is also another example of the work taking place well before a transfer becomes public. George credited head of recruitment Joe Hutchinson with putting City at the front of the queue, despite competition from clubs with significantly more Championship experience and interest from overseas.
“I would like to thank Phil (Giles, director of football), Lee (Dykes, technical director) and David (Langridge, loans manager) for their help throughout the process and great credit should go to Joe Hutchinson, our head of recruitment, who made sure that we contacted Brentford and Yunus’ agent earlier than any other club this summer, maintained dialogue throughout, knowing that Yunus would more likely come out towards the end of the window, and worked so hard to enable us to sign him ahead of a lot of interest from far more established Championship clubs and options abroad.”
Konak’s arrival gives Chris Cohen and Tom Shaw another specialist option in the middle of the park, and one who already knows what Championship football demands after his spell with Oxford. At 20, there should still be plenty of development ahead of him, but his top-flight appearances with Brentford and senior football in Turkey mean this is not simply a youngster arriving without first-team experience.
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