Arsenal are reportedly keen on signing Stuttgart midfielder Berkay Ozcan, but they will have to fend off interest from Europe’s elite, according to his agent.
The teenager has broken into the Bundesliga 2 side this season where he has gone on to provide three goals and four assists in 18 appearances under Hannes Wolf.
Ozcan’s performance this season has captured the eye of Europe’s biggest clubs and his representative admits that Arsenal are in the hunt to secure his client’s signature.
“Many top clubs are interested in Berkay,” Baris Yukselsen told Football.London. “Arsenal have Berkay on their list, but at the moment he is focusing on Stuttgart’s resurgence.”
Arsenal have had a keen eye on talents across Germany in recent years with a young Serge Gnabry having previously joined from the Stuttgart academy in 2011 – only to return to his homeland with Werder Bremen last summer.
Recently, long-term Gunners scout Jurgen Kost hinted that he was keeping tabs on a Turkish midfielder plying his trade in the German league, and it appears that Berkay fits the description of the player.
“I have been scouting a Turkish kid in Germany, I watched him two/three weeks ago, he plays in central midfield,” Kost was quoted as saying on Turkish Football.
The north London giants are due to add a new central midfielder to their ranks this summer with Santi Cazorla looking more or less likely to leave at the expiry of his contract.
Cazorla has had injury concerns over the past 20 months, and his future looks bleak at the Emirates unless he proves his fitness before the end of June.
Meanwhile, Granit Xhaka has yet to fully establish himself in the heart of the midfield with Francis Coquelin and Mohamed Elneny still inconsistent when played alongside the Swiss in the starting lineup.
Arsenal are currently five points adrift of fourth-placed Liverpool – with two games in hand, following a run of three league defeats in five outings.
