- EXCLUSIVE from Graeme Bailey
Atletico Madrid defender Caglar Soyuncu is eyeing a return to Turkey despite interest from West Ham United and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
HITC Football understands Caglar Soyuncu has little interest in a return to the Premier League and he wants to move back to Turkey.
Atletico Madrid are ready to let Soyuncu leave this month on loan, as his summer move from Leicester City has not worked out as planned.
HITC sources confirm that a host of clubs have shown an interest including Premier League quartet Brentford, Fulham, West Ham United and Wolverhampton Wanderers, whilst Porto and Monaco are also keen.
However, 27-year-old Soyuncu wants to play for one of Turkey’s big clubs – something he has never done in his career.
He started with minnows Altinordu before being snapped up by Freiburg in Germany, where he impressed to earn his move to Leicester.
Now, Fenerbahce are leading the chase for Soyuncu in Turkey and the centre-half wants to join them, even making that clear to Atletico.
Caglar Soyuncu looking to get his career back on track
It’s not all that long ago that Soyuncu was being hailed as one of the Premier League’s best defenders.
Soyuncu stepped up for Leicester after Harry Maguire’s departure in 2019 and praise was coming in from all corners.
Jamie Carragher admitted that he loved watching Soyuncu and there were rumours surrounding a 2021 move to Manchester City.
Soyuncu only started six Premier League games last season though, completely falling out of the plans under Brendan Rodgers.
The 27-year-old decided to run down his contract and join Atletico Madrid for free, but he has only made one league start in Spain.
The last year to 18 months have been tricky for Soyuncu and he will be desperate to get back on track.
A return to Turkey may be just what Soyuncu needs and he would surely play a key role for a title-chasing Fenerbahce side.
It’s clear that Premier League clubs still rate Soyuncu highly given the interest from Brentford, Fulham, West Ham and Wolves.
Yet for Soyuncu to really get back on track, Fenerbahce may be the right club for him – and this stance will leave those Premier League clubs to look elsewhere for a new defender.
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