Potent winger sparks Arsenal, Tottenham transfer duel with €15m bid already tabled

Tottenham and Arsenal have been named as two clubs that will try to sign Turkish winger Kerem Akturkoglu this summer after a €15m bid was already rejected, per a report.

The 23-year-old forward is quickly becoming one of Turkish football’s hottest properties. Kerem Akturkoglu operates primarily on the left side of a front three and has shown his quality across multiple competitions this season at Galatasaray.

Indeed, Akturkoglu has bagged 11 goals and nine assists in 44 matches this year. Three of those goals and four of those assists came in the Europa League.

Turkey handed Akturkoglu his maiden call-up in the middle of 2021. He has since gone on to become a regular in the national side.

He bagged three goals in their World Cup qualification group. That helped Turkey advance to the Play-Off round at the expense of Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard’s Norway.

As such, it comes as no surprise to see Turkish outlet Aksam Spor detail the burgeoning transfer interest in the winger.

Firstly, they note Lyon, Atletico Madrid and Wolfsburg have all registered interest in Akturkoglu. In fact, Bundesliga side Wolfsburg reportedly already made a €15m bid – presumably in January – but were spurned by Galatasaray.

It’s said the Turkish powerhouse are instead seeking a figure upwards of €20m. While that might stretch the likes of Wolfsburg or Lyon, it is well within the means of Arsenal and Tottenham who are also in the hunt.

Kerem Akturkoglu piques Arsenal, Tottenham interest

The report adds the north London pair have ‘closely followed’ Akturkoglu with their scouting teams.

They have both have seemingly liked what’s been reported back. The report adds they’ll both ‘knock on Galatasaray’s door at the end of the season’.

Galatasaray would strive to insert a sell-on clause in a deal, though that’s unlikely to be a deal-breaker.

Akturkoglu’s current contract runs until 2026, meaning Galatasaray are in a strong negotiating position. Nevertheless, an offer of around €20m would be difficult to ignore for the Turkish side.

As a right-footed left winger, Akturkoglu would provide direct competition for Gabriel Martinelli at the Emirates.

But if Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah both leave, Martinelli could be tried in a more central position, thus opening up a slot on the left wing.

Displacing Son Heung-min would be a near-impossible task at Spurs. However, Aktürkoğlu could prove to be an excellent depth piece and could be viewed as an upgrade on Steven Bergwijn if the Dutchman is axed in the summer.