Liverpool’s pursuit of young Turkish duo Burak Ince and Ravil Tagir have been given the backing of Ilkay Gundogan, with the Manchester City midfielder hailing ‘two players with high potential’ in conversation with The Star.
Altinordu have a fine track record when it comes to bringing through the next generation of Turkish footballers.
Cengiz Under and Caglar Soyuncu both made their name at a second-tier outfit before jetting off to Rome and Freiburg respectively, and it seems only a matter of time before a pair of talented teenagers follow in their footsteps.
Yeni Asir reported this week that Liverpool are in talks over a £6.5 million double deal which will see Ince and Tagir link up with Jurgen Klopp’s star-studded squad at Anfield.
And Gundogan, a German international with Turkish heritage, cannot wait to see how far Ince and Tagir go in the game.
“There are two players with high potential in Altınordu – Burak Ince and Ravil Tagir. I believe they can do good things in the future as well,” says the Man City star.
Ince, a silky playmaker with an eye for goal, became the youngest player ever to feature in the Turkish second division in 2019. He is already a key player for Altinordu, scoring twice in 16 matches since making his historic debut.
Tagir, meanwhile, is a barnstorming centre-back in the Soyuncu mould.
According to Fotospor, Juventus and Manchester City have shown an interest in him, while Benfica are confident that he would be worth around £70 million in a couple of years.
Liverpool, if reports are to be believed, could get Tagir and Ince for ten per cent of that fee.
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