Arsenal 'reach agreement' with £17m star as Gunners eye first summer signing

The past few weeks have seen several reports from Turkey suggest Arsenal are increasing their interest in Fenerbahce’s Ferdi Kadioglu. The latest reports go so far as to suggest the two parties have ‘reached an agreement’.

Last Friday, the Turkish outlet Sabah reported the left-back was preparing to head to the Premier League, with the Gunners looking the most likely club to secure his services. However, there is now a further update on this report, with Turkish newspaper Milliyet (via Sport Witness) headlining their article on the 24-year-old: ‘Step by Step to Arsenal’.

The story opens up on the defender’s desire to move to England in the upcoming summer transfer window and not only are Arsenal said to be the side that want him the most, but they are also stated to have ‘started to take concrete steps’ to secure the player.

Milliyet also claims Arsenal have ‘reached an agreement’ with the full-back and his agent over the personal terms, but does not mention what those terms are. The north London club are expected to ‘sit down at the table’ with the Yellow Canaries to go about securing a deal for the Turkish international.

Kadioglu is currently on a contract that should see him remain at Fenerbahce until 2026 but the club’s president, Ali Koc, had earlier admitted that the defender could leave the club in the upcoming window. Any interested parties, however, will need to cough up €20m (£17m) to secure Kadioglu’s signature, but it seems unlikely Arsenal will have any issue meeting that relatively modest valuation.

The Turkish footballer’s immediate competition within the Arsenal squad would be Oleksandr Zinchenko and Jakub Kiwior - with neither able to hold down this position consistently this campaign, often losing their places to Takehiro Tomiyasu.

While the gulf in quality between the Turkish SuperLig and Premier League is notable, it’s worth noting that WhoScored.com rate Kadioglu higher than Zinchenko on almost every metric, including clearances per game with the Fener star managing 1.6 per match to Zinchenko’s 0.8.

The 24-year-old, who has played as a full-back, midfielder and winger, has been with the Turkish SuperLig side Fenerbahce since 2018, making nearly 150 league appearances for them and scoring 11 goals. He also has 15 international appearances for Turkey - having represented the Netherlands at youth level. His Turkish debut came in their 4-0 UEFA Nations League win over Faroe Islands and his first goal came in November 2023, during a 3-2 win over Germany.