The Bundesliga club are in crisis and Tottenham Hotspur could take full advantage by stealing their star man.
It seems inevitable that Hakan Calhanoglu will swap the Bundesliga for the Premier League eventually. With Kevin De Bruyne and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, the league’s last two Players of the Year, moving to Manchester in consecutive summers, the Turkish playmaker appears the next in line to be spirited away by a huge offer from England.
Especially with Bayer Leverkusen in crisis. Bild reported last year that the playmaker was mulling over a potential move to Tottenham Hotspur and the chance to link up with former team-mate Heung Min Son at White Hart Lane.
However, it would be no surprise to learn that the events of the last few months have pushed Calhanoglu further in the direction of London – and we’re not talking about the fact that he is currently serving a four-month ban for breaching contract rules going back on his proposed move to Trabzonspor in 2011.
After a difficult second season at the Bay Arena, Calhanoglu has been one of the few players in a disastrous Leverkusen season to really thrive under Roger Schmidt with six goals and five assists despite the club slipping eleven points adrift of the final Champions League spot.
And Sunday’s sacking of the man that helped attract the Turkish international from Hamburg could have ramifications on his decision whether or not to remain in the Bundesliga.
After all, the creative, dynamic Calhanoglu was an excellent fit in Schmidt’s hard-pressing, high-tempo, uber-attacking approach and the prospect of a different manager and a different style of play may convince the 23-year-old that Mauricio Pochettino – who is renowned for a similarly up-and-at-em approach, can take his career to the next level.
Furthermore, the fact that Leverkusen are almost certain to be exiled from European competition next season could only hasten his decision.
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