Barcelona shaken as Jose Mourinho forges ‘secret plan’ to prise away midfielder Hansi Flick is ‘counting on’

Barcelona will have to resist interest in former Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan this month after reports revealed he is the centre of attention for a transfer to the Turkish Super Lig, while their hopes of cashing in on an underwhelming forward have been dealt a blow.

Gundogan only joined Barcelona last summer after his contract with Man City expired, but there have already been claims that he could leave the club and move to Turkey, the country his parents came from.

Originally, it was Galatasaray who were linked with the Germany international. However, AS has now uncovered that he is not on their agenda – but he is the ‘secret plan’ for their rivals Fenerbahce.

Jose Mourinho is Fenerbahce’s new manager and he is hoping to attract some high-profile talent to the club. And in fact, Fenerbahce have already approached Gundogan’s agent, according to the Spanish source.

They may have to work hard to convince him about their offer, though. After all, Gundogan has made no secret of it being a dream for him to play for Galatasaray – and not their eternal foes.

But if Fenerbahce can agree a deal with Barcelona for the 33-year-old, who has another season on his contract with an option for what would be a third Barcelona season on top, he may have to weigh up their proposal.

That said, even getting to that stage isn’t a given, since Barcelona would want a sizeable fee for Gundogan, regardless of his age and the fact they didn’t pay a transfer fee to sign him themselves. They may even put him out of Fenerbahce’s price range.

New Barcelona boss Hansi Flick is ‘counting on’ Gundogan for the new season, in AS‘ words, despite the club being willing to listen to offers for almost any player due to financial restrictions.

Barcelona striker rejects Saudi offer

For example, someone Barcelona would not be against offloading is Vitor Roque, despite only bringing him to Europe from Brazilian side Athletico Paranaense at the start of the year.

Doubts have crept in about Roque’s suitability and it has led to rumours of a move to the Saudi Pro League. In fact, Fabrizio Romano has claimed on Sunday that Al Hilal have made an approach for the striker within the last 48 hours.

However, in a blow to Barcelona’s hopes of raising funds from Roque, the teenager has turned down the offer.

Joining Al Hilal would have seen him link up with fellow Brazilian players Renan Lodi, Malcom and Michael, as well as the currently injured ex-Barcelona star Neymar.

Roque remains under contract with Barcelona all the way up until June 2031.

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