Aston Villa are reportedly in a strong position to sign Feyenoord midfielder Orkun Kokcu this summer as Unai Emery eyes reinforcements.
Villa are expected to be busy in the transfer market ahead of next season, with Emery having his first summer to stamp his mark on the squad and strengthen where necessary.
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Speculation has already been rife and has linked us with various players across Europe, but according to The Mirror, Kokcu is one of our top targets and despite interest from a number of other Premier League clubs, Villa’s interest and offer are said to be under strong consideration.
Further, it’s added that Feyenoord may well require a bid of around £40m to consider an exit, and while Villa are said to have sent scouts to watch Kokcu in action this season, time will tell if we’re convinced enough to meet those touted demands and splash out a significant fee on him.
The 22-year-old has scored 12 goals and provided five assists in 42 appearances across all competitions for the Dutch giants this season, and as their captain, he is set to lead them to the Eredivisie title this year.
Having come through the youth ranks at the club and with 20 caps for Turkey to his name already, it has been quite the start to his career, and it remains to be seen if Feyenoord do go on to seal a league crown, whether or not that would tempt him into starting a new chapter elsewhere.
It’s not the first time that we’ve been credited with an interest, as De Telegraaf linked us with a move at the start of this month, and so it will be interesting to see if Kokcu does emerge as a priority this summer.
Emery has seen significant improvement from across the squad since taking charge, and he has certainly had a positive influence on the likes of Douglas Luiz, Jacob Ramsey and John McGinn, with our midfield options looking strong again.
However, he’ll be keen to strengthen where possible and with ambitions of not only competing in cup competitions but also with the potential of qualifying for Europe next season, we’ll need competition and depth in the squad while striving to always raise the level of quality in the group to ensure we become increasingly competitive at the top level.