Footie Central | Football Blog Blogging the football world
Arsenal may be ready to bring Besiktas star Oguzhan Ozkayup back to the club he left as a teenager, according to the Daily Mail, with some reports suggesting he may already have been offered a contract by the Gunners.
Ozkayup began his youth career in the country of his birth, the Netherlands, with AZ Alkmaar before moving to Arsenal aged 16. However, despite helping them win the FA Youth Cup in 2009, he only made two appearances for the Gunners at first team level, and was sold to Besiktas in 2012 for £500,000.
Since then he has gone on to captain the Istanbul side, and also to win 30 international caps for Turkey, which he qualifies for due to his parents. The midfielder is highly regarded by Besiktas, but he is now in the final six months of his current contract with them, and free to talk to other clubs.
Arsenal have already identified midfield and defence as key areas where they need to strengthen in the summer.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.