By Jude Summerfield
Barcelona President Joan Laporta has confirmed that the club is looking to complete a deal for young Fenerbahce prospect Arda Guler.
Nicknamed the ‘Turkish Messi’, the 18-year-old Guler had four goals and three assists in 20 Super Lig appearances in 2022/23 as Fenerbahce finished as runners-up.
He is said to have a €17.5m release clause and has been followed by Barça’s Clasico rivals Real Madrid, Arsenal and Newcastle. New sporting director Deco recently flew to Turkey for talks with Fenerbahce and Laporta has now revealed the deal is expected to receive approval from La Liga.
He said to Export3: “Deco was in Istanbul, he says [Guler] he is a great talent.
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“Now La Liga allows us to make the deals that don’t count for this year. Our scouting department was following him. We are trying to close the deal.”
Guler broke into Fenerbahce’s first team last season with three goals and three assists in the league and made his senior debut for Turkey in November 2022. He also scored his first international goal in a 2-0 win against Wales in Euro 2024 qualifying.
BoatTransfer market prospects have been affected in recent years by off-pitch scandals and financial mismanagement. Laporta recently hit in a ‘campaign against Barca‘ on the Negreira case which led to a ban since Champions League.
Ilkay Gundogan’s arrival has been confirmed following the midfielder’s starring role in the 2022/23 season that Manchester City won, while supporters Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba have departed.
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This article was originally posted on 90min.com as Joan Laporta confirms that Barcelona are looking to complete the deal for the Turkish prodigy.
