Newcastle United are making moves to sign Turkish wonderkid Arda Guler and are hoping to take advantage of a bizarre contract clause.
A report in Turkey has once again linked Newcastle with an interest in Fenerbahce‘s teenage sensation Arda Guler. Ajansspor has said that Newcastle have held preliminary talks with Arda Guler’s family in Dubai over a summer move.
The 18-year-old has been labelled as ‘The Turkish Messi’ thanks to his mouthwatering ball control, and Newcastle could be set to take advantage of an odd clause in Guler’s contract.
Guler’s release clause is an odd one
The Magpies could pick up Guler for just £4.3million if he fails to hit 1500 minutes of game time this season. Should he reach that threshold, which is now looking likely given Fenerbahce’s cup run, the price jumps to £17.3million.
Guler has amassed 1126 minutes this season in 30 appearances in all competitions for Fenerbahce, scoring six goals and providing four assists along the way. He’s played all across the middle for the Turkish side, but most of his appearances have come on the right wing.
Newcastle will see Guler as one for the future
Given that he’s only 18 years old it’s unlikely that Newcastle would be acquiring Guler to throw him straight into the first team and would likely see him as one for the future. However, given his experience playing in the Europa League this season, he could be kept around and used as a squad player by Eddie Howe instead of being loaned out.
The Magpies will face competition for his signature from some big clubs, as Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund and Napoli also have a keen interest, but it sounds like Newcastle have made the first move.
Fans on Twitter are getting excited about this one with a video showing his skills has started to do the rounds, so hopefully that Dubai meeting has already laid the groundwork for the summer switch. Whether we end up paying £4.3million or £17million it looks like we’d be getting a bargain.
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