Calhanoglu eager to impress

Hakan Calhanoglu is determined to reward AC Milan for the faith they have shown in him after he joined the club following a FIFA ban.

The Turkey international was suspended for four months after it was deemed he had breached a contract with Trabzonspor, a club he had agreed to join in 2011, only to extend his stay with Karlsruher SC.

That ruled him out of Bayer Leverkusen's Bundesliga campaign from February onwards and has fuelled the 23-year-old's desire to hit the ground running at San Siro.

"I want to thank you for making this transfer happen and trusting in me. I want to give a lot back," he told Milan TV.

"The last four months have been hard for me, but I am very happy to be here in Milan. I want to give my best performance for the fans, the club and the team.

"Thank you for everything, for giving me the chance to play at San Siro. I want to give my best.

"I am free and want to give everything I have. AC Milan is a very good club, the most important club for me because they have so much history and I hope we can do it again.

"When you see the museum and all these big players like Kaka, [Gennaro] Gattuso, [Cesare and Paolo] Maldini, Ronaldinho and David Beckham, that is a very big job for me [to live up to them] and I am happy."

Of his set-piece expertise, he added: "The trick with free kicks is 50 per cent talent, 50 per cent hard work. I train really hard every day, as I want to score the goals in the game situation so I can help my team.

"I hope to start the season well, we have an important Europa League game and hope we are in the top three at the end of the Serie A season. I hope and know we can do it."

The attacking midfielder joins Franck Kessie, Ricardo Rodriguez, Mateo Musacchio, Andre Silva and Fabio Borini in making the move to San Siro as the Rossoneri look to challenge for Champions League qualification next term.