Newcastle United and Arsenal are both interested in bringing Arda Guler to the Premier League and World Cup winner Andrea Pirlo believes the Fenerbahce wonderkid has the world at his feet.
Mesut Ozil famously quipped, after one particularly mesmerising Arda Guler display back in 2022, that the Turkey international had everything required to become a ‘future world star’.
Guler has since inherited Ozil’s number ten shirt at Fenerbahce, and continues to repay the sizeablefaith shown in him with a series of eye-catching performances in a position befitting his number. The twinkle-toed attacking midfielder has six goals and five assists this season.
And former Newcastle playmaker Emre Belezoglu believes that – if the £17 million-rated Guler does indeed end up at a Magpies side who secured Champions League qualification with a 0-0 draw at home to Leicester City – Eddie Howe will get his mitts upon a player with the talent to become ‘one of the best midfielders in Europe’.
Pirlo tends to agree.
Is Arda Guler joining Arsenal, Newcastle United or PSG?
“Arda Guler is one of the most prominent names here,” the Juventus, Italy and AC Milan legend – now the head coach of Fatih Karagumruk – tells Hurriyet.
“We can call him a player in the ‘champion’ prototype. One of the players that can come closest to reaching the highest level.
“He is a promising player with very important quality, view of the game, technique, everything. But he has to continue to evolve. He has to keep improving every day.
“I can say that he has the ability to reach the level of Europe and even the world.”
Paris Saint-Germain are in talks with the £17 million-rated Guler. Arsenal have sent scouts to watch him too (Turkish Football).
But while Guler looks well-suited to an attacking midfield role in Mikel Arteta’s free-flowing gameplan, Pirlo believes that the slow pace and lofty technical levels of La Liga make Spain the ideal destination for a diminutive 5ft 9ins talent.
“Spain comes to mind first,” Pirlo adds. “In Italy, maybe he might have some difficulty. But when he improves his physique a little more, he is a player who can play blindfolded in every league in the world.
“He should work on his physique. He should work harder on every aspect of the overall game. We can say this both for Arda and for all young players.
“(But) if a player knows how to play football, he will play in any league. No league will be a problem.”
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