According to T24 (h/t Derbyshire Live), Derby County are planning a club-record offer for Fenerbahce forward Ferdi Kadioglu.
20-year-old Kadioglu has often been linked with a move to the Pride Park Stadium after having played under Derby boss Philip Cocu during his stint in Turkey with Fenerbahçe.
Back in January, the Rams were interested in the Dutch striker, however, no deal materialised at that time. Now with the summer window around the corner, Derby are once again preparing a bid for under-21 Dutch international.
The report suggests that the Championship outfit are ready to offer a deal worth £13m to land the young attacker. Having said that, Kadioglu could thus become Derby’s record signing in history if at all a deal works out between the two parties.
Krystian Bielik, who was signed from Arsenal last summer for a sum of around £9.5m is their club-record signing at present. Meanwhile, Derby have not had the best of seasons so far, with the club struggling at 12th place in the table.
Considering their sixth-place finish last year, this seems like a season to forget for the Rams. Despite their forwards putting up a good show up front, Derby have not managed to break into the top-ten due to their inconsistency.
Moreover, the lack of an attacking midfielder in their ranks have diminished their chances of goal-scoring opportunities. Veteran centre-forward Chris Martin remains the side’s top-assist provider with six to his name.
The side’s only playmaker – former Manchester United star Wayne Rooney, has played just 11 games in the league so far and assisted just twice. Also, Rooney is way past his prime and is 34 now. The Rams do not have another creative player other than him, which further elucidates their interests in young Kadioglu, who has appeared in a number of positions in the attack for Fenerbahce.
He has so far made a total of 23 appearances this season, scoring four goals and assisting two times for the Super Lig side. Predominantly used as a right-winger, Kadioglu has also started on the left flank and has been at times used as an attacking midfielder at Fenerbahce.
Despite his side being seventh in the league, Kadioglu made an impressive start with the Turkish side in his debut season. The young Dutchman arrived in the summer in 2018 from NEC Nijmegen. Having proved his credentials at such a small interval, young Kadioglu with his goal-scoring and assisting skills would be exactly what Derby need at the moment
At 20, Kadioglu has already proved his potential and could be a good long-term investment for Derby County. Also, having worked with Rams boss Cocu earlier, Derby could be the perfect place for the young winger to develop his game.
With attackers Martin (31) and Martyn Waghorn (30) already past their thirties, Derby really need some young blood in their attack for the coming days. Hence, Kadioglu could be a perfect fit at the struggling Championship side.
