Arsenal Eyeing Oguzhan Ozyakup Return
REUTERS/Eddie Keogh
Arsenal, Manchester United and Tottenham are keeping a close eye on Besiktas’ Oguzhan Ozyakup.
The midfielder was on Arsenal’s books as a youngster but left the north Londoners in 2012 to return to his homeland and join Besiktas in a £425,000 deal.
Since then, he has been a revelation for the Super Lig club and attracted interest from some of the top clubs across Europe.
According to Turkish football, Manchester United and Tottenham are preparing a summer bid for the 24-year-old.
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Besiktas, having already turned down a £10m offer from Roma last summer, are believed to have slapped a price tag of around £17 million on Ozyakup.
Tottenham are reportedly ready to offer around £12 million for the Turkey international but may have to up their offer to compete with United, who are also keen.
White Hart Lane boss Mauricio Pochettino is a big admirer of him and believes the creative midfielder would add greater depth and quality to his squad.
Arsenal are also interested in a reunion with their former player despite the fact Ozyakup left them after not being able to play a single league game in his 4 years’ stint with the Gunners.
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Ozyakup has scored 26 goals for Besiktas over the course of 171 appearances across all competitions.
Club president Fikret Orman has been quoted by Turkish Football as saying that Besiktas want Ozyakup to stay and are prepared to offer him a new long-term contract to try and secure his future.
“We want Ozyakup to stay, there is a lot of talk of him leaving but we want him here and will offer him a new 4-5 year deal,” he added.
Of course, Ozyakup could reject the offer and pursue a move back to the Premier League, with Manchester United, Arsenal and Spurs seemingly keen to tempt him back to England this summer, given that he has just over a year left on his Besiktas contract.
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