Orkun Kokcu admits he is ‘very happy’ to have stuck around at Eredivisie giants Feyenoord after a mooted move to Premier League outfit West Ham United failed to materialise, speaking to ESPN.
Since the turn of the century, the team from Rotterdam have only ever claimed Dutch football’s biggest prize on one occasion; the 2016/17 season under Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
There is a long way to go, of course. But Feyenoord fans were pinching themselves for good reason heading into the World Cup break. Top of the table, with ten wins and one defeat from 14 matches, Feyenoord are three points clear of an Ajax side coming to terms with life post-Erik ten Hag and a PSV Eindhoven outfit who look set to lose talismanic forward Cody Gakpo in the winter window.
So while the £23 million-rated Kokcu hopes to take the ‘next step’ in his career at some point in the future, the Dutch-born Turkey international is not exactly unhappy with life as the captain and creative lynchpin of the best team in the Netherlands.
West Ham wanted Orkun Kokcu but he’s now fighting for the Eredivisie title with Feyenoord
“I didn’t have to leave this summer. In the end, I also feel at home at Feyenoord,” Kokcu explains.
“I have been playing here for eight years, and I had would also like to take that (next) step. But when I see where we are now, I am secretly very happy that I stayed.”
Per Fabrizio Romano, West Ham showed an interest in Kokcu over the summer. The Feyenoord academy graduate also came close to joining Arsenal two-and-a-half years ago. Now playing the best and most consistent football of his career – with seven goals in 19 appearances from his deep-lying playmaker role – speculation over Kokcu’s future will surely be on the rise again soon enough.
“He is already good. He has an incredible amount of potential,” Feyenoord coach Arne Slot says of his skipper.
Kokcu will celebrate his 22nd birthday a few days after Christmas.
“If he starts doing a number of things even better, in addition to what he is already doing well (he’ll reach another level),” Slot adds. “For example, I think he has already made huge strides physically. But he still needs to take a small step in that to be ready for the next step.”
West Ham, meanwhile, remain in the market for a ball-playing central midfielder. Marseille misfit Gerson has held talks with the Hammers. Torino’s Sasa Lukic could also arrive in a swap deal with Nikola Vlasic.
David Moyes’ side completed their first signing of 2023 last week. Talented young defender Luizao joins on a free transfer from Sao Paulo.
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