Hull to ‘muscle in’ on race to sign Turkish international

Harry McMullen

Hull City are the latest English club to express an interest in signing the out-of-contract Turkish under-21 star Bilal Başaçıkoğlu, according to a report.

The Dutch-born winger signed a three year deal in 2018 for Turkish side Kayserispor following a transfer from Feyenoord but has never settled in the Super Lig.

The 24-year-old chose to terminate his own contract recently due to ‘serious financial arrears’ – making Başaçıkoğlu a free agent on the lookout for a move back to Europe.

Başaçıkoğlu was one of the Eredivisie’s hottest prospects after breaking through at Heerenveen, before a £3.15m transfer to Feyenoord saw him fail to make a mark.

According to ELF Voetbal, a number of English clubs are eyeing the European talent including Leicester City, Norwich City and Hull City.

Due to Başaçıkoğlu’s free agent status, the Tigers could land him on a free should he sign for Hull.

Başaçıkoğlu is a pacy winger with a good amount of depth to his game, happy to drive at full-backs and attack.

The Turk is said to be best-suited to a 4-3-3 formation.

With the departure of attacker Jarrod Bowen looking likely, City would certainly be looking to add to their attacking options over the January transfer period.

 

 

Başaçıkoğlu’s agent Yalcin Zöhre is aware of the English interest but was not giving much away about the winger’s next destination.

He said: “These are beautiful clubs, all with a rich history. Therefore, I can neither confirm nor deny the interest.”

Meanwhile on the pitch, the Tigers have drifted away from the playoff spots following a mixed-bag of results.

City sit five points behind sixth place Fulham with a tough set of fixtures coming up over the festive period.

Hull host struggling Birmingham at the weekend before a tough trip to Nottingham Forest on boxing day – gaffer Grant McCann will be hoping for a good run of results to push the Tigers up the table.