Nadir Çiftçi



Perhaps better known for his spell with Dundee United where he was the spearhead of an impressive attacking line which included Ryan Gauld, Gary Mackay-Steven and Stuart Armstrong.

Nadir Çiftçi was a youth player in Holland with ADO Den Haag before being tested to head to England to join Portsmouth.

Before arriving at Tannadice in 2013 he had a spell in Turkey with Kayserispor and in Holland with NAC Breda, in his early career he failed to settle at clubs but he did enjoy his spell with the Terrors. In his first season he had scored 17 goals three of which came against the Steelmen, his second season was just as impressive as he netted on 16 occasions, he did however have the pain of losing a Scottish Cup final against St Johnstone in May 2014, he had more misery in future as he would miss out on a League Cup final due to suspension but he did net in the semis to help his side progress.

Nadir won many admirers due to his style of play and goals haul but he was somewhat a controversial character as he had numerous run in’s with various officials and oppositions players. He eventually signed for Celtic for a fee of £1.5 million.

He found it hard to settle at Parkhead as openings were limited and Celtic of course had a plethora of attacking options, the majority of his time was spent farmed out on loan as he searched for form and fitness, he had spells with Eskişehirspor in Turkey, Pogoń Szczecin in Poland and Plymouth Argyle in England. His spell at the Pilgrims was cut short as he had hardly set the heather on fire.

On the 9th January 2018 he arrived on loan at Motherwell for the remainder of the season, it was hoped he could rediscover his old form but in truth he would only provide minor glimpses of the magic he once created in Dundee, his early days at Fir Park he struggled for fitness and goals were hard to come by.

Çiftçi scored his first goal for the club in a 1-1 draw against Partick Thistle in February, he wouldn’t get back on the scoresheet until the last day of the league season when he enjoyed netting a fine double against Hamilton in a 3-0 win which was no doubt his best performance for the club.

A tad reminiscent of his days at United, he had the pain of missing out on a cup final when Motherwell reached the 2018 Scottish Cup Final, as he was on loan from Celtic he was ineligible to be selected.

He was released from Celtic upon his return to Glasgow and he subsequently returned to Turkey where he joined Gençlerbirliği.

Name:
Nadir Çiftçi
Height:
6′ 1 ½”
Weight:
12st
Date of Birth:
12th February 1992
Place of Birth:
Karakoçan
Position:
Striker
Nationality:
Turkish

Football Career:

Portsmouth 2007 2011
Kayserispor 2011 2012
NAC Breda 2012 2013
Dundee United 2013 2015
Celtic 2015 2018
Eskişehirspor (Loan) 2016
Pogoń Szczecin (Loan) 2017
Plymouth Argyle (Loan) 2017 2018
Motherwell (Loan) 2018
Gençlerbirliği 2018

Well Career:

Apps Goals
League:
8 (3) 3
Scottish Cup:
3 (1) 0
League Cup:
0 0
Other:
0 0
Total:
11 (4) 3