All in the Game: Turay takes dedication to a whole new level

Malmo’s new signing asks his brother to stand in for him at his own wedding

Mohamed Buya Turay in action for Sierra Leone against Ivory Coast's defender Serge Aurier during an Africa Cup of Nations clash. Photograph: Charly Triballeau/AFP/ via Getty Images
Mohamed Buya Turay in action for Sierra Leone against Ivory Coast's defender Serge Aurier during an Africa Cup of Nations clash. Photograph: Charly Triballeau/AFP/ via Getty Images

Sierra Leone international Mohamed Buya Turay is only 27 but he’s now on to his ninth club in the last nine years, six of them in Sweden, two in China and one in Belgium. That’s a serious dose of wanderlust.

His latest employers are Malmo who signed him from Chinese club Henan Songshan Longmen during the summer, his Wiki entry telling us that his “conscientious attitude” was hailed by the Chinese media during his time in their league.

Turay took that conscientiousness to a whole new level on signing for Malmo, agreeing to set aside a personal commitment so that he could join the club earlier than planned to help their preparations for their Europa League qualifying campaign.

That personal commitment? His wedding. But fret not, his bride-to-be, Suad Baydoun, wasn’t left standing at the altar, Turay came up with an ingenious solution to the problem – he asked his brother to stand in for him.

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Explaining why photos of him and Suad dressed up in their wedding outfits were doing the rounds, Turay revealed that “we took the pictures beforehand, so it looks like I was there, but I was not – my brother got to represent me at the actual wedding”.

To underline his commitment to Malmo, for whom he scored his first goal last week to help them in to the Europa League playoffs, Turay has announced that his honeymoon won’t take place until after he helps Malmo win the league. If Suad has any sense, she’ll stay married to his brother.

Word of Mouth

“I think Marcus Rashford’s time at Manchester United is done. If I’m them, I’d send him to Paris Saint-Germain in a cab.”

TalkSPORT pundit Simon Jordan – and that was before Saturday’s 0-4 hiccup against Brentford during which Rashford was as threatening as a sliced pan.

“To say I’m excited is an understatement – the lure of the sequins and the call of the salsa has me swapping my battered old football boots for a set of Strictly soft shoes. I can’t wait to meet my partner – god help her – and start the dancing.”

Yes, former Arsenal and England skipper Tony Adams will be starring in the upcoming Strictly Come Dancing series. As many suggested, if he just keeps thrusting his arm in the air like he’s calling for an offside, he’ll be halfway to victory.

June 3, 2022: “Trevor showed enormous character to overcome some challenges and provide an impact towards the closing stages of last season. Now, with a full pre-season behind him, I think he’ll show his full potential.”

Bristol Rovers gaffer Joey Barton hailing Shamrock Rovers old boy Trevor Clarke after he signed a new two year contract with the club.

Last week: “If I’m honest, I don’t trust him. I’ve made a mistake on that one, I shouldn’t have brought him back in. He’s done well in the League of Ireland and he could pop back out there, but that will be somebody else’s problem and he won’t go forward with us.”

Barton performing the mother, father, auntie and uncle of all U-turns while telling Clarke his services are no longer required. Bizarre? Yep.

“How on earth can you buy players when you have no money? I find it a disgrace. Laporta – who keeps laughing with his big-head – thinks he’s the king. But I think he’s a bit of an idiot.”

Apart from that, Rafael van der Vaart has no complaints about the running of Barcelona.

“I’ve got some little kids absolutely giving me stacks, they were mugging me right off. They were like ‘’£50 million? You’re shit.”

Arsenal’s Ben White recalling some random small people being a touch unkind about the amount the club paid Brighton for his services.

Quote of the week

“As things stand now, his value on the transfer market is a couple of sacks of potatoes.”

Andrei Kanchelskis being quite rude about the worth of Fiorentina’s Aleksandr Kokorin who will probably now join Manchester United for €96.8 million.

Number: 22

Until Saturday, that’s how many years it had been since an Irishman last played in Italy’s Serie A (Robbie Keane) – and then Festy Ebosele made his Udinese debut. Hats off.