Bayer Leverkusen’s Turkish midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu is close to joining Chelsea reports Turkey’s HaberTurk, Cumhuriyet and InternetSpor.
It’s understood that Chelsea’s manager Antonio Conte wants an alternative attacking midfielder to replace Brazilian Oscar, and he thinks Hakan Calhanoglu is the one that he needs.
Chelsea have started the talks with Bayer Leverkusen regarding the Turkish international, and will reportedly follow with an opening bid in the coming weeks. Although the agreement is far from done, it’s expected that Bayer Leverkusen will demand around €20M for their star player.
The 22-year old is said to be relishing a chance to play in the Premier League and informed Leverkusen that he’d like a move to Chelsea.
Calhanoglu also informed Turkish National team manager Fatih Terim about the potential transfer. The pair worked together during the last international break and Calhanoglu told Terim that he expected to join the Blues and Terim responded positively.
Unlike Emre Can, Mesut Özil and Ilkay Gundoğan, Hakan Calhanoglu opted to play for Turkey after a conversation with former Liverpool midfielder Nuri Sahin and Turkish Football Federation president Yıldırım Demirören.
Calhanoglu has already played 105 games for Leverkusen in just over two years following his move from Hamburg. With his undeniable set-piece ability and great long-range shooting he’s a key player for Roger Schmidt’s team.
The Bayer Leverkusen player has been involved in countless reports of imminent moves to several Premier League clubs, and it remains to be seen if this time things work out differently.
Nihat Emre Kocaaslan, Turkey.
