Hakan Calhanoglu (Getty Images)
According to claims from Turkish source Fanatik, West Ham and Leicester City are set to go head-to-head in a transfer tug of war over AC Milan star Hakan Calhanoglu in the summer.
The same report claims that Milan would demand a fee in the region of £26million to part ways with the Turkish international playmaker, who has played a key role for them under Gennaro Gattuso this season.
Calhanoglu started his professional career at Karlsruher SC in Germany before going on to establish himself as one of the top rising playmakers in Europe, first at Hamburger SV and then at Bayer Leverkusen. The Turk netted 28 goals in 115 games for Leverkusen before completing a move to the San Siro back in 2017.
He racked up an impressive tally of 8 goals and 11 assists for the Rossoneri last season and has produced some fine performances this term as well to keep his team in the race for a top-four finish in the Serie A, accumulating a total of 2 goals and 9 assists in all competitions.
The 25-year-old is a technically-gifted and tactically-versatile creative ace, who is essentially a No.10 by trade but he also been used to good effect as a left-winger at AC Milan, owing to his right-footed nature. A recognised set-piece specialist, the Turk boasts of a terrific conversion rate from dead ball situations and has earned a reputation for being one of the most prolific free-kick takers in Europe.
Calhanoglu is noted for his technical abilities, speed of thought, vision, dribbling skills, immaculate crossing, as well his well-rounded passing attributes-both short and long, which allows him to create chances in the final third. He is more than capable of creating his own space with his flair and trickery on the ball and has a knack of chipping in with crucial goals.
Well, Calhanoglu is a full international for Turkey and has also proven his worth at the top flight in Germany and Italy. However, the main question is- Do Leicester really need him? And, would he be worth all the efforts to bring him to the club?
Undoubtedly, the Turk is a fine player with impressive playmaking skills but the Foxes already have a top-quality No.10 in James Maddison. The former Norwich City ace has emerged as one of the breakout stars in the Premier League this season, contributing with 7 goals and 6 assists from 33 league appearances for Brendan Rodgers’ side.
Hence, the acquisition of Hakan Calhanoglu is bound to raise doubts over the future of Maddison at the King Power Stadium, and given that the Turk is one of the household names in European football at the moment, the Foxes would need to fork out a sizeable transfer fee to get him on board.
Even the best of players come with their own set of drawbacks and Calhanoglu’s lack of physicality and his inability to deliver the goods week-in-week-out should prompt Leicester to give this move a second thought. Moreover, someone like Maddison is head and shoulders above the Turk in terms of work rate off the ball and defensive contribution, attributes that add a lot of value to any side in the Premier League.
In Harvey Barnes, James Maddison and Demarai Gray, Leicester have some top quality versatile attacking midfielders in their ranks and someone like Calhanoglu won’t be that much of an upgrade on their existing options. Instead, they should prioritize signing Youri Tielemans permanently in the summer, as the Belgian international has been a real game-changer for the Foxes in the midfield with his passing and vision.
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Tielemans’ influence has brought the club on the brink of securing a Europa League qualification spot this season and there is no reason why they should look at other options heading into the upcoming campaign.