Jose Mourinho could reportedly be closing in on making a former Newcastle United star one of his first signings at Fenerbahce.
Jose Mourinho is reportedly eager to add a former Newcastle United star to his Fenerbahce squad.
The Portuguese linked up with the Turkish giants last month, tasked with trying to wrestle the Super Lig title off Galatasaray.
Given the pull of the legendary former Chelsea and Real Madrid manager, Fenerbahce are expected to acquire some high-profile names before the end of August.
As it stands, the Yellow Canaries have been relatively quiet in the transfer window, with Rade Krunic‘s switch from AC Milan being made permanent and Fatih Karagumruk defender Levent Mercan arriving on a free transfer.
Caglar Soyuncu has also completed his full-time switch to Fenerbahce on the back of his loan stint from Atletico Madrid.
However, it appears only a matter of time before a high-profile name will finally be making the move to the Şukru Saracoglu Stadium.
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Saint-Maximin in talks with Fenerbahce
According to Turkish journalist Yagiz Sabuncuoglu, there is every chance of Allan Saint-Maximin joining Fenerbahce over the coming weeks.
Saint-Maximin has recently completed his first season with Al-Ahli, contributing four goals and 10 assists from his 31 appearances in all competitions.
That was a respectable return in terms of both game time and final-third numbers given the Frenchman’s injury issues at Newcastle.
Al-Ahli also finished in third place in the Saudi Pro League, subsequently securing qualification for the AFC Champions League for 2024-25.
Nevertheless, it is claimed that Fenerbahce are ‘very close’ to wrapping up the transfer of the 27-year-old having been provided with permission to hold talks with the playmaker.
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What is the potential fee?
When Al-Ahli signed Saint-Maximin 12 months ago, it was suggested that they had paid in the region of £22m for his signature.
Fenerbahce’s record buy stands at barely half of that figure, so it is unlikely that any fee will get close to that number.
Ah-Ahli do not necessarily have to abide by any strict financial rules, making it plausible that they could sell Saint-Maximin for whatever price they deem to be fair.