‘Best in the league’: Arsenal and Leeds target as good as Luka Modric

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Juventus must beat Premier League duo Leeds United and Arsenal to Orkun Kokcu, former Serie A star Mohamed Sissoko tells TuttoJuve while comparing the Feyenoord midfielder to Luka Modric. 

When discussing the prospect of arguably the greatest footballer in Europe joining forces with Max Allegri, former Roma midfielder Stefano Impallomeni made his feelings very clear indeed. 

Mo Salah, he says, would be a ‘useless’ addition to the Juventus squad unless the 2017 Champions League runners-up reinforce their rather middling midfield first.

The current options available to Allegri, including Weston McKennie and Adrien Rabiot, are certainly not quite up to the standards of those who came before. The Andrea Pirlos, the Arturo Vidals, the Claudio Marchisios of the world. 

But is Kokcu really the missing piece in the Juve jigsaw? Having taken his game to a whole new level at Feyenoord in recent months, silencing his critics and blossoming in a deep-lying midfield role under highly-rated coach Arne Slot, Sissoko is glowing in his praise of the 21-year-old Turkey international, identifying Kokcu as the perfect addition to Juventus’ spluttering engine room. 

Is Orkun Kokcu the new Luka Modric?

“He is the number 10 of Feyenoord. Although young, he already has about ten appearances for the Turkish national team. He won’t cost much, he has a low salary and, for me, he is the right player for Juventus,” says Sissoko, who spent three years in Turin after joining from Liverpool.

“He is ready for the leap to a great club like Juventus. After all, players from the Eredivisie are having a big impact in Italy (see Denzel Dumfries, Matthijs de Ligt, Hans Hateboer).

“He is the protagonist at Feyenoord, he is a player with six goals, eight assists and is the best in his league. 

“I see him playing in different roles. He made a good impression on me both as a central and as an attacking midfielder. He is perfect as a pivot in a three-man midfield.”

Leeds United are weighing up a summer bid for Kokcu, amid doubts over Kalvin Phillips’ Elland Road future (Freek Jansen).

Arsenal are also long-time admirers. The Gunners first opened talks to sign the Dutch-born playmaker two years ago this month (Ziggo Sport). 

And Sissoko believes we’ll be talking about Kokcu in the same breath as a Ballon D’Or winner and four-time European champion. 

“(Luka) Modric. For me, (Kokcu) has the same quality of play,” Sissoko adds. “He has the potential to reach his level.”