Prior to a 21–22 Europa League match, Leeds United is in negotiations to recruit Turkish star Kerem Akturkoglu from rivals Galatasaray in January. Xavi, the manager of Barcelona, has previously praised the player.
For Galatasaray, the 26-time Turkey star is blazing. More so than in previous terms this term. In just 27 league and cup appearances, he has 15 goals and 15 assists. In the Champions League match against Manchester United, two goals.
Naturally, Leeds and Galatasaray have a rivalry since two Leeds supporters were stabbed in 2000, just before the UEFA Cup semifinal. Kevin Speight and Christopher Loftus passing away prior to kickoff.
Leeds has reportedly held regular talks to sign Akturkoglu, according to the Turkish website Fanatik, but Galatasaray is not willing to let him go, at least not in January. It’s unclear if we’ll attempt to test that resolution next month.
Barcelona faced Galatasaray in the Round of 16 of the Europa League back in 2021–2022. After the second leg, which Barca won 2-1 overall, Xavi gushed over Akturkoglu, the attacker for Galatasaray.
“I want to call special attention to Kerem. He plays the game quite quickly. one of the top players for Galatasaray. We safeguarded ourselves well against him. According to Goal, Xavi stated, “We dominated the match.”
“Kerem possesses intriguing abilities. Excellent at one-on-one work. He gave it his all in the two games, but I believe our analysis of Galatasaray was sound. Xavi went on, “We found more opportunities, we gave less opportunities.”
