Arda Turan: Liverpool & Manchester United Battle for £13M Dazzling Turkish Golden Boy
According to reports in the Turkish press Liverpool and Manchester United are gearing up for a battle for the exciting young Turkish winger Arda Turan. The player is expected to leave Galatasaray with the club finishing a highly disappointing 5th in the Turkish league, 10 points behind champions Besiktas.
An added bonus for potential suitors of Arda is the player’s versatility as he can play on either flank or even in a more central role. Liverpool have been strongly linked to the golden boy of Turkish football as Rafa Benitez has been looking to add some much needed flair to his strong outfit. However, with Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure from Manchester United, Sir Alex is also in the market and looks to have lost out on targets Karim Benzema and Franck Ribery so will be determined to secure Arda for the left wing having already signed Antonio Valencia on the right. Whoever does sign the Turkish international will sign a player who’ll provide width and trickery in abundance.
The 22-year-old Galatasaray midfielder enjoyed an excellent season individually even though the team ultimately struggled after scoring 7 goals in 29 league appearances (27 starts). In the 2007/08 season he also weighed in with 7 goals in 30 league appearances (29 starts) which led to interest from England, Spain and Italy in the process.
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Since breaking into the first team he has scored an impressive 19 goals from 86 (80 starts) league appearances and has become a mainstay of the team that won the 2007/08 Turkish title. His match-winning performances in Turkey’s superb Euro 2008 displays also intensified the growing interest in the exciting winger as well as increased his price tag.
The player is expected to cost around £13m which may not be too much of a gamble if he can realise his amazing potential in England.
He’d looked destined for St James’ last summer but Newcastle’s reluctance to pay more than £8.5million prior to Euro 2008 was met with disdain by Galatasaray President Adnan Polat. The Magpies were reportedly in a hurry to get Turan signed up prior to the European Championships as they feared impressive performances by the player would push his value up even further. Unfortunately for the Tyneside giants, that is exactly what happened.
Arda has won 31 caps for his country (3 goals) despite his tender age after progressing from the U19 and U21 sides. The youngster is both quick and two footed and has been likened to former Galatasaray legend Gheorghe Hagi in his home country so should give you an idea of how highly he is rated. It promises to be an interested summer battle between Liverpool and Manchester United in regards to who finally signs the golden boy of Turkish football.
So would you like to see this exciting young talent in the Premier League or do you feel he could flatter to deceive in the hurly burly pace of the English top flight? Let’s hear your views.
Tags: Arda Turan, Galatasaray, Liverpool, Manchester United, Newcastle, Turkey
July 3rd, 2009 at 13:42
saw at U21 level was class above anything else I have seen at that level
July 3rd, 2009 at 14:57
he seems to miss alot..
July 5th, 2009 at 09:43
Its a pretty poor compilation of him actually, clips are a couple of years old. Class player already with potential to be world class
July 11th, 2009 at 22:21
Arda is not expected to leave Galatasaray anytime soon. He was just given number 10 and appointed as a the captain of the team.
I would say 15 million pounds would be enough to convince Galatasaray, but it would take a lot for Arda to leave Galatasaray anytime soon.
February 27th, 2010 at 20:32
Hi! Great idea, but can this actually work?
BERNEICE