Richards keen on Turkey stay

Colin Kazim -Richards made his customary post Christmas appearance on the orange sofas on Boxing Day, picking up his hat-trick ball in the process.

The Fenerbahce forward was back in the UK to celebrate Christmas with his family and he started by setting the record straight about his future at the club.

The former Brighton and Sheffield United star has been linked with a move back to England after a car crash and a four match ban has seen him receive some bad press in his adopted country.

However, despite his recent stint on the front and back pages of the national press, he said there was no truth in the rumours that he was on his way back to the UK.

"I've supposedly been on the transfer list since I got there, so I don't know what it is," he told Soccer AM.

"And the same teams have wanted me for the same time. At the beginning of the season I scored five goals in seven games. And before my crash, and before I got sent off against Besiktas, things were going really well.

"After my crash there was a lot of bad press in Turkey, but that's football. You get that all the time and a lot of footballers get it, so I can't complain."

Nationality

Born in Leyton, Kazim-Richards joined the Turkish outfit in June 2007. The 23-year-old has also represented the national side 16 times, having qualified for Turkish nationality through his mother.

After a great start to the current campaign Kazim-Richards was banned for four matches for unsportsmanlike conduct during Fenerbahce's 3-0 derby defeat by Besiktas.

Just three days later he flipped his car on his way to training in wet conditions, breaking his wrist in the process, and he admitted he owed a debt of gratitude to the passers-by that came to his rescue.

"I'm lucky those people were there because they arrived in the space of a minute," he said. "My engine was still on and I was in shock."

"The car flipped over six or seven times and my body managed to come out of my seat (and landed ) across both seats because I didn't have my seatbelt on. So always wear your seatbelts!

"As soon as I crashed I touched my legs and touched my face and I was like 'alright, that's alright!'"

Winter

Fenerbahce currently top the Turkish league going into their winter break and the East London boy admitted he has been enjoying his time off.

As well as taking his gran sightseeing around the prestigious Dolmache Palace in Istanbul, he will be spending his New Year in Brazil, a fact which he hasn't let escape the attention of some of his former team mates!

"Quite a few of my friends play for QPR so I've been giving it to them," he said. "While you lot are here in minus weathers I'll be flying to Brazil on the 29th!"