Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal reportedly want to bring Orkun Kokcu to the Premier League after a fine Eredivisie season with Dick Advocaat’s Feyenoord.
Arsenal target Orkun Kokcu has rejected the latest contract offer put on the table by Feyenoord with the midfielder facing an increasingly uncertain future at De Kuip, according to Voetbal International.
As if The Gunners weren’t already facing a major challenge this summer, as Mikel Arteta looks to build an exciting and talented squad on a budget, the ongoing global health crisis will see Arsenal’s transfer warchest shrink ever more.
So reports from The Mail, which suggest that the North London giants could pay £23 million for a teenage midfielder, have certainly divided the Arsenal fanbase.
There is no doubting Kokcu’s talent but, at just 19, many have questioned whether he is the kind of transformative signing who would really take this underachieving side to the next level. That £23 million price-tag promises to take a sizeable chunk out of the budget too.
Either way, Arsenal are still pressing ahead with their interest in a Dutch youth star. And plenty in the English capital will be thrilled to learn that Kokcu has turned his nose up at the chance to extend his stay with Feyenoord.
Frank Arnesen, the technical director of the Rotterdam giants, has offered Kokcu a new deal but the midfield dynamo is yet to put pen to paper. Both parties appear to be poles apart in negotiations as things stand.
So this will be music to the ears of Arsenal, who obviously see something rather special in a diminutive youngster who’s forceful performances have made him one of the first names on Feyenoord’s team sheet.
The Mail claims that Kokcu has been in talks with the Londoners since March.
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