One of the brightest stars in Turkish football is preparing for life abroad after Trabzonspor midfielder Gökdeniz Karadeniz agreed an €8.7m move to Russian Premier-Liga side FC Rubin Kazan.

The 28-year-old playmaker came through the youth ranks at Trabzonspor after being spotted at amateur side Giresun Yolspor, and has been in the first team for nearly a decade. Until now the club have refused all moves for their talisman but the lure of a new challenge has finally proved too much for a player all set for his first major finals at EURO 2008.