Canadian opposite Brodie Hofer made a surprising move in the middle of the season, leaving Halkbank and transferring to ON Hotels Alanya Bld. Spor to strengthen the team at the opposite position until the end of the 2025/2026 campaign. This was announced in a club post on X.

The transfer comes at a very delicate moment for Halkbank, which is in the decisive phase of the Champions League group stage. Radostin Stoychev's team has two more matches left, which are directly related to the battle for advancement.

Halkbank is last in the group after losing 1:3 to Galatasaray yesterday, and the next two matches are of the "all or nothing" category.

The two decisive matches for Halkbank

In their penultimate match, the Turkish giant hosts Bogdanka Lublin, and in the final round, they face a direct clash with their direct competitor for third place – Knack ROESELARE.

Exactly the third position in the group is crucial because it grants a playoff spot, which makes any personnel change at this moment even riskier.

Bulgarian presence in his new team too

It is interesting that Hofer is moving to a team where there is also a Bulgarian presence – former national setter Georgi Seganov plays for Alanya, which adds additional interest from a Bulgarian perspective.

Why is Alanya looking for reinforcement?

Currently, Alanya is 10th in the Turkish league standings with 5 wins and 11 losses, which logically explains their search for reinforcement in attack. The team has also already dropped out of Europe – they lost the 1/8 final of the CEV Cup to Belgian Greenyard MAASEIK, and will now focus entirely on the domestic championship.

The question for Halkbank remains open

The big unknown is how Halkbank will fill the void left by Hofer, and whether they will even look for his replacement at this point in the season. Given that two matches that will decide the team's fate in the Champions League are coming up, any lack of depth at the opposite position could prove crucial.