West Bromwich Albion have also contacted Fenerbahçe about a move for midfielder Ozan Tufan, joining Crystal Palace in chasing the player.
Earlier today we brought you a report from Sabah journalist Volkan Demir, who claimed that Palace were keen on Tufan in the summer and have returned this month with a €10m bid.
It was explained that Fener’s management were yet to respond to the offer, but president Ali Koç, sports director Emre Belözoğlu and manager Erol Bulut are set to hold a meeting following the clash with BB Erzurumspor on January 11th.
Demir provided no information on how they would feel about the offer, but we assumed they would be loathed to lose a key a player mid-way through the season.
It’s said that both sides have ‘hooked’ the player and ‘started contact’ with Fenerbahçe about a potential transfer.
There is no mention of a bid, but they claim that the Fener’s management don’t want to lose Tufan and will only ‘open the door’ for a transfer at €20m.
That’s double what Crystal Palace have already reportedly offered and a high price for either them or West Bromwich Albion to pay.
However, the latter have Sam Allardyce in charge, who has a history of signing players from Turkey, particularly in January, having brought Cenk Tosun to Everton for £20.25m in January 2018.
Whether the Baggies can afford such an outlay remains to be seen but either way, it’s clear they and Palace are ready to do battle for the 25-year-old’s signature.
