Leeds United want Mergim Berisha but he proved to be the unlikely hero for Fenerbahce against Umraniyespor on Monday night.
Enner Valencia put Fenerbahce in front and then had the Turkish giants back ahead after Tomislav Glumac’s equaliser.
It all started to go wrong for Fenerbahce though as Valentin Gheorghe and Antonio Mrsic stunned the home crowd, putting Umraniyespor 3-2 up.
Fenerbahce, much like Bonnie Tyler in 1984, needed a hero.
Up stepped Mergim Berisha, hammering home an injury-time equaliser to give Fenerbahce a share of the spoils.
Leeds United want Mergim Berisha
Few could have really expected Berisha to drag Jorge Jesus out of a dire situation given that he is expected to leave Fenerbahce.
Reports in Turkey suggest that Fenerbahce are desperate to sell Berisha as they need to bring down the number of non-Turkish players in their squad.
Berisha was allegedly told that he is free to leave Fenerbahce this summer as Jesus isn’t counting on him moving forward.
Yet just when Jesus needed a goal from somewhere last night, Berisha popped up with a powerful finish, securing a point for Fenerbahce.
Berisha proved his worth to Jesus on Monday night but Leeds United will still have hope of a deal if they still want Berisha.
Yeni Şafak reported in July that Leeds had offered £1.7million for Berisha, around £2.5million shy of Fenerbahce’s asking price.
Leeds boss Jesse Marsch coached Berisha at Red Bull Salzburg and the German striker hit 22 goals in their final season together.
Leeds do need another striker to offer competition for Patrick Bamford and Berisha could be a very low-cost option.
Monday’s goal may just tempt Fenerbahce to hike up the price tag a little, though whether Jesus is inclined to keep hold of Berisha remains to be seen.
Leeds will be keeping close tabs on this situation, though we would imagine that Berisha is behind the likes of Arnaud Kalimuendo and Che Adams on their striking wish list.
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