Trabzonspor will not stand in Ugurucan Cakir’s way of a move to the Premier League but are playing down reports linking Nottingham Forest with the Turkey international.
Over the last three or four years, almost every club in England’s top flight has been linked with a move for Ugurcan Cakir and things usually end the same way. After a summer of never-ending speculation, Cakir begins the new campaign between the sticks at Trabzonspor.
Whether history repeats itself this time around, only time will tell.
According to reports coming out of Turkey this week, Nottingham Forest are weighing up an £8.5 million bid as Steve Cooper looks to replace the departed Dean Henderson and Keylor Navas at the City Ground.
Henderson and Navas have returned to Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain respectively.
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Cakir, Trabzonspor’s 2021/22 Super Lig-winning captain, will be allowed to leave the Black Sea outfit if a club in one of Europe’s major leagues come calling.
But president Ertugrul Dogan insists that, as far as he is aware, there are no offers on the table just yet.
“Ugurcan Cakır is our captain. A brother we love very much,” Dogan tells the Turkiye Gazetesi.
“We do not give Ugurcan to any club in Turkey. We want Ugurcan to go to an important club in Europe. We’d like that for Turkish football and Ugurcan.
“But there is no such situation at the moment. There is no such official offer coming to us at the moment.”
Labelled ‘world-class’ by one former Turkey international; Cakir has been linked with the likes of Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Leeds United since bursting onto the scene around five years ago.
Nottingham Forest are also considering a range of options in Serie A.
Michele di Gregorio of surprise packages Monza is an option. Ditto the out-of-favour Luis Maximiano at Lazio. Emil Audero, meanwhile, is likely to leave troubled Sampdoria after they finished rock-bottom in May.
Rumour rating: 6/10 – Cakir is both affordable and attainable, but the Turkish press can be unreliable when it comes to rumours.