A report has emerged that claims that Benfica look likely to pull out of the race to sign Liverpool and Arsenal target Orkun Kokcu.
As reported by Record, while many might wonder if the Portuguese club had any chance of signing the 22-year-old in the first place, it is key to note that several wonderkid opts to join them to aid their development.
But it seems like with Benfica having one foot out of the race to sign Orkun Kokcu, Liverpool and Arsenal can go head-to-head for his signature.
Liverpool & Arsenal now in direct competition to sign Orkun Kokcu after Benfica surrender
Compared to Manchester City’s Phil Foden by Dutch journalist Marcel van der Kraan on talkSPORT, the Turkish No.8 is clearly extremely gifted.
With 12 goals and five assists in all competitions for Feyenoord, despite playing in quite a deep position, Kokcu has played a starring role in his side’s Eredivisie title triumph.
Now, a report has made the claim that Benfica are unwilling to pay the £34.7 million price tag to sign Orkun Kocku, leaving Liverpool and Arsenal having to battle it out for his signature.
The club consider the fee as too pricey to sign the highly-rated technician.
However, it has been stated that the youngster has a ‘desire’ to join Roger Schmidt’s side, despite the Premier League duo ‘watching’ him closely.
Arsenal may seem like favourites but it is not as straightforward as that
With Arsenal looking like they could win it all under Mikel Arteta, clubs like Liverpool and Benfica may be left behind in their pursuit to sign Orkun Kokcu is what one might naturally assume.
However, things are not as simple, especially as the player himself has his sights set on a move to Portugal.
If Benfica stick to their guns of not paying the fee, a chance to start at Liverpool seems far more likely than at Arsenal, which makes this race a lot more open that one would deem.
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