West Ham United have taken the lead in the race to sign Fenerbahce defender Ferdi Kadioglu, according to Turkish outlet AS Marca.
The Hammers submitted a formal offer of £22 million for the 24-year-old left-back, aiming to strengthen their backline ahead of the new season under incoming manager Julen Lopetegui.
AS Marca also suggests that Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is also a big admirer of Kadioglu, but West Ham’s bid marks the first concrete step towards signing the player.
With departures expected for Ben Johnson and Thilo Kehrer, West Ham are actively looking to bolster their full-back positions. While Aaron Cresswell has surprisingly secured a new deal presumably as back up although Emerson Palmieri remains a solid option on the left, Kadioglu is seen as a significant upgrade.
Kadioglu, described as a “future superstar” by talent scout Jacek Kulig, has impressed with four assists in 34 appearances this season for a title-chasing Fenerbahce side. His versatility would add depth to the West Ham squad.
Lopetegui, replacing David Moyes, has a lot of work ahead in reshaping the squad. West Ham’s early transfer activity suggests a proactive approach compared to last season’s late dealings.
With Arsenal’s reported interest, the race for Kadioglu is likely to heat up. West Ham’s bid has certainly ignited the competition, making this a transfer saga to follow in the coming weeks.
£22m is a good offer for a player from the Turkish league! Let’s see what happens but I agree Lopetegui will be defined by who he and steinden sign in the transfer window!!!
Whatever the bid it won’t be enough.
If they are serious go in with both feet, at least £30m.
Proving to other clubs this is the man we want.
Starting at £22m and haggling is a waste of time.
Good for the media nothing else.
Most top clubs use the same or similar metrics and systems to assess potential players, so it is unsurprising that clubs cluster around the same ones. All the top and aspiring clubs are mentioned as being interested in Roy of Melchester Rovers etc etc and then the top few clubs hoover up who they want, leaving the rest (such as WHU) to chose their fifth or sixth choice. WHU have as much chance getting someone like Toney as winning the Premiership four times on the trot.
We are a big club we have as much to offer as the so called top six we have Bowen and kudus they wouldn’t be here if we were such a poor choice there’s a new beginning now and who knows maybe we will win the league 4 times in a row aloud to dream but we will find out just how good we are under Lopetegui and if he can match the chat on the pitch then anything is possible
With all of the “Top Clubs” eg Arsenal, Spurs, Newcastle, Liverpool, Aston Villa etc.- not to mention Italian, Spanish & German clubs – also being interested in practically every player that we are interested in signing, I don’t see much chance of West Ham signing any of them; do you ?