Premier League giants Arsenal and Newcastle United are at risk of missing out on Arda Guler with Paris Saint-Germain now in talks to sign the Fenerbahce wonderkid.
Mesut Ozil once quipped that Guler had everything in his locker to become a future ‘world star’. The German was well placed to pass judgement. Ozil, after all, had shared a dressing room with Guler in Istanbul.
And it’s fair to say a man who shone at Real Madrid, Schalke, Arsenal and for the German national team knows a thing or two about making it at the very top level as a string-pulling ‘number ten’.
Guler has since inherited Ozil’s shirt at Fenerbahce, scoring six goals and setting up four more this season despite only turning 18 in February.
A clause in his contract, however, means Guler could leave for just £4 million this summer. He has played just 962 minutes across the entire campaign. Fenerbahce value the teenager at closer to £17 million, but could lose him on the cheap as he looks set to play fewer than the 1,500 minutes dictated in his current deal.
Arsenal and Newcastle United scout Arda Guler
Turkish Football believe that Newcastle and Arsenal – Ozil’s former employers – are keeping close tabs on the situation. But so are PSG. After holding talks in January, the Ligue 1 champions are beginning a new round of negotiations with the summer window now only a few weeks away, according to Tuttomercatoweb.
A move to Paris would see Guler follow in the footsteps of Jay-Jay ‘so good they named him twice’ Okocha. The Bolton icon swapped Fenerbahce for PSG in 1998.
“I watched two matches of Arda Guler. He’s an excellent player. He will get much better,” Okocha argues. “He needs to work hard to become a legend and a hero.
“I can give him this advice; You will also immediately forget every match you played. Every match is a new challenge. He has many years ahead of him.”
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
