Galatasaray and Beşiktaş ‘gave up’ on signing Arsenal midfielder Mohamed Elneny.
That’s according to Fanatik, who say the two Süper Lig sides tried to land him before the transfer window in Turkey closes on September 8th.
Beşiktaş were ‘enthusiastic’ about the 29-year-old, who already knows the Black Eagles, having spent the 2019/20 season on loan with them.
Galatasaray, for their part, had a meeting with the Egypt international. The deal, however, wasn’t agreed, primarily due to the demands made by the Gunners player.
It’s claimed the agent of Mikel Arteta’s man ‘demanded’ €1.7m, mostly in wages for his client, from Beşiktaş.
Fanatik say that with the involvement of William D’Avila, the former Basel midfielder asked for a four-year deal that included an annual salary of €2.5m, from Galatasaray. There were ‘different tariffs’ proposed to the two clubs.
Galatasaray president Burak Elmas didn’t want the Elneny deal to cost so high and therefore, ‘vetoed the transfer’, saying: ‘I will not bind such a contract to the club for four years’.
Beşiktaş also gave up on the Arsenal player and ended up signing Miralem Pjanić on loan from Barcelona.
