AC Milan star Hakan Calhanoglu deserves to be playing Champions League football next season amid reported interest from Newcastle United, former Turkey ace Hamit Altintop told Calciomercato.
As you might have noticed, Newcastle have been absent from Europe’s top table for some time now.
In fact, the Magpies have not graced a Champions League fixture since March 2003 – a 2-0 defeat to Barcelona which featured Laurent Robert, Alan Shearer, Xavi and the mercurial Juan Roman Riquelme.
These days, Newcastle are closer to the Championship than they are to the Champions League and, with all due respect to one of Britain’s best-supported clubs, Calhanoglu can do far better than a club glancing nervously over their shoulders at Fulham.
According to the Chronicle, Newcastle are eyeing an ambitious summer swoop for the AC Milan play-maker, with his contract due to expire in July.
But, according to fellow Turk Alintop, Calhanoglu should not even consider leaving the Rossoneri for a club outside of Europe’s elite.
“Hakan has grown a lot and he is certainly one of the reasons why Milan are achieving such important results, because he is a fundamental part of them,” said the former Bayern Munich and Real Madrid midfielder.
“I say that someone like him should play in the Champions League every year – whether he is at Milan or elsewhere.”
Calhanoglu, a £22 million signing from Bayer Leverkusen in 2017, has produced six goals and 11 assists in all competitions this season, helping fire Milan into the heart of an intriguing Scudetto battle.
It is hard to imagine one of the game’s most effective attacking midfielders swapping the San Siro to play alongside Jonjo Shelvey and Jeff Hendrick at St James’ Park.
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