Arsenal want to sign Juventus star Kenan Yildiz before other Premier League clubs do, while Fenerbahçe are preparing an offer to Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski. Join us for the latest transfer news and rumors from around the globe.
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Juventus forward Kenan Yildiz is the subject of great interest. Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images
TRENDING RUMORS
– Arsenal are hoping to steal a march on Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United in a move for Juventus forward Kenan Yildiz, says Football Insider. Yildiz, 20, is one of the most exciting young attacking players in Europe and has six goals and five assists in 18 games so far this season. The Turkey international has a contract until 2029 but is stalling over an extension and that has a host of top Premier League clubs looking to take advantage of the situation.
– Turkish club Fenerbahçe are preparing an offer to sign Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski, AS has revealed. The LaLiga giants are open to letting Lewandowski, whose contract expires at the end of the season, leave and Fenerbahçe have presented him with an 18-month contract offer. Lewandowski’s primary focus is to play regular first-team football ahead of a potential appearance at the FIFA World Cup with Poland next summer — which is almost certainly his final opportunity to appear at the tournament.
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– Interest in Marc Guéhi from around Europe could force Liverpool’s hand in January, as per Football Insider. Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Internazionale are all ready to try to sign the England international on a free transfer next summer. However, Liverpool came so close to signing the center back for £35 million back in August, the club may opt to skip the queue and pay a small fee to secure his services this winter. Indeed, Palace are open to a January deal if it means they avoid losing him for free.
– Manchester United winger Jadon Sancho has been told he must halve his £300,000-a-week salary if he wishes to return to Borussia Dortmund, according to The Daily Mirror. The 25-year-old is currently on loan at Aston Villa, where he has played just four times in the Premier League. He is reportedly keen to head back to Germany in a bid to get his career back on track, although it remains to be seen whether he’d be willing to take a substantial wage cut to make it happen.
– Orlando City are finalizing a deal to sign midfielder Luis Otávio from Internacional, UOL reports. The highly rated 18-year-old has already made 27 first-team appearances in his native Brazil, 19 of those coming in Série A. Otávio will join on an U22 Initiative deal once the final details of the club-to-club agreement are ironed out.
EXPERT TAKE
ESPN’s resident scout Tor-Kristian Karlsen explores what makes Kenan Yildiz such a good prospect.
Yildiz immediately looked like a seasoned senior player from the moment he broke into Juventus’ XI last season. And his most memorable moment came in the Derby d’Italia a year ago when was introduced after the break against Inter Milan and totally changed the momentum of the game, burying two brilliant strikes in the second half in an eventual 4-4 draw.
He usually likes to play in a flexible position behind the striker — though he can also perform as a “False No. 9 — and his preferred area to receive the ball is on the left, before darting inside with an explosive burst of pace for a shot or pass.
In addition to picking smart spaces in and around the attacking box, Yildiz is equally good with either foot, which makes him unpredictable as he can take on defenders on both sides with intensity.
In possession, he is hard to knock off balance, brings a lot of variety, and is creative — indeed, last season he recorded 2.1 chances per 90 minutes and 2.3 shots (0.9 on target) in Serie A. He’s also quick to press opponents when out of possession and reacts very quickly to poor touches from defenders when there’s high traffic around the ball.
His consistency in the final third still needs work and he’s prone to running into pressure, while he is sometimes too eager to go for the spectacular, individual action. But, wearing the No. 10 Juventus shirt confidently inherited from his idol Alessandro Del Piero, the 20-year-old possesses star potential and it’s no surprise that other teams are taking note.
OTHER RUMORS
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– Arsenal and Liverpool are keeping an eye on Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta. (Caught Offside)
– Chelsea, Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Napoli are keeping tabs on Marseille sensation Robinio Vaz, 18, who has four goals and two assists from 14 games. (Africafoot)
– Wolves are considering whether they should revive their interest in Lazio goalkeeper Christos Mandas, as the Serie A club is open to letting him leave in January. The Valencia and Galatasaray-linked stopper could be available for as little as £10 million. (Ben Jacobs)
– Newcastle United striker William Osula is keen on moving to Eintracht Frankfurt in January. Stuttgart have also enquired about the Dane in recent days, although Eintracht remain in pole position. (Bild)
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– A meeting between Filip Kostić‘s agents and Juventus is expected to take place in the coming days to discuss the player’s future. Kostić hopes to stay at Juve and extend his current deal. (Nicolo Schira)
– Chicago Fire are closing in on a deal to sign South Africa defender Mbekezeli Mbokazi from Orlando Pirates. (Tom Bogert)
– Sunderland will try and secure a January loan move for striker Ahmed Abdullahi. (Northern Echo)
– AC Milan, Aston Villa, Benfica and Porto are all monitoring Cruzeiro striker Kaio Jorge, who left Juventus last year. (Ekrem Konur)
– Fiorentina, Lazio and Torino all want to sign West Ham United stopper Mads Hermansen on loan in January. (Ekrem Konur)
– Several clubs from Saudi Arabia and the UAE have now entered the race to sign América de Cali striker Dominic Hernández. (Rudy Galetti)
