Lazio have stolen a march on West Ham in the race for Oğuzhan Özyakup by tabling a €10million bid to Besiktas, according to Turkish source Spor Haberleri.
Özyakup currently plies his trade in Turkey for Besiktas and has been heavily linked with a summer move away from the club, much to the annoyance of Besiktas’ general secretary Ahmed Ürkmezgil.
Ahmed, as quoted by Sondakika, recently said: “Oğuzhan and (fellow West Ham target) Atiba (Hutchinson) are not considered for sale. (They) will not transfer.
Besiktas president Fikret Orman has today echoed Ürkmezgil’s and talked down a potential move for Özyakup to Lazio. He was quoted by Spor Haberleri saying: “(None of the) Besiktas team will not be leaving for a middle-class team like Lazio, they would go to top teams like Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester United.”
Judging by their comments, Lazio’s €10million bid will be rejected but the transfer saga will not stop here.
According to Fanatik, Özyakup is a priority target for West Ham and a move for the 23-year-old could materialise in the coming days following Lazio’s offer. Slaven Bilic is believed to be a huge fan of Ozyakup, a man he said was the most talented footballer in Turkey while covering their game against Croatia for ITV, as well as branding him the ‘new Mesut Ozil’, according to the Express.
