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Swansea striker Bafetimbi Gomis joins Galatasaray

Swansea striker Bafetimbi Gomis celebrates

Swansea have confirmed striker Bafetimbi Gomis has joined Galatasaray.

Swansea expect to receive around £2.5m for the 31-year-old, who joined them on a free transfer from Lyon in 2014.

Galatasaray announced on their Twitter account on Tuesday night that official talks had begun with Swansea to sign Gomis and on Wednesday posted a picture of the forward after he arrived in Istanbul.

Gomis, capped 12 times by France, had a limited impact during his time in south Wales after beginning his Swansea career as back-up to Wilfried Bony.

After Bony's departure to Manchester City in January 2015, Gomis established himself as Swansea's main striker and scored 17 goals in 71 games.

Marseille forward Bafetimbi Gomis celebrates
Image: Bafetimbi Gomis celebrates scoring for Marseille

But he spent last season on loan at Ligue 1 club Marseille, where he scored 20 goals in 31 league games.

Before leaving for Turkey, he posted a farewell to the club's fans on Instagram, saying: "I had come with a very specific goal, to help the club qualify for Europe and score 20 goals, and this happened.

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"Today a page turns for me. I have made the choice to leave for a new experience, I leave with a heavy heart because I leave friends, brothers, a stadium, a city, a family, great men."

Tammy Abraham in action during the U19 match between England and Italy at Carl-Benz-Stadium on July 21, 2016
Image: Tammy Abraham has also been wanted by Newcastle for the coming season

Swansea are set to replace Gomis by signing Chelsea's England Under-21 striker Tammy Abraham on a season-long loan.

Abraham spent last season at Bristol City - scoring 23 goals in the Sky Bet Championship - and Chelsea were keen for the 19-year-old to gain further loan experience in the Premier League.

The deal should be formally completed following England U21's departure from Euro 2017, where Abraham scored in normal time before missing a penalty in the semi-final shoot-out defeat to Germany.

LAS PALMAS, SPAIN - MAY 14: Roque Mesa of Las Palmas holds off the challenge from Samuel Umtiti of Barcelona during the La Liga match between UD Las Palmas
Image: Swansea are hoping to complete the signing of Las Palmas' Roque Mesa

Swansea also hope to conclude the signing of Las Palmas midfielder Roque Mesa for £11m in the next 48 hours.

The 28-year-old central midfielder had a pass completion rate of 91.4 per cent last season, the fourth highest in La Liga in the campaign just finished.

Swansea have begun clearing the decks for Mesa's arrival by parting company with Franck Tabanou.

The former France U21 defender joined from Ligue 1 club St Etienne in June 2015, but made only three appearances for Swansea, all in cup competitions.

Swansea said they had reached a "compromise agreement" with Tabanou to end the remaining one year of his contract in order to help the 28-year-old find a new club.

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