Arsenal star Mesut Özil recently predicted more Turkish players to start joining the Premier League.
“In recent years Turkish players have come a long way. The young players have huge potential,” Özil told the Turkish newspaper Fanatik.
“They look after themselves well and are starting to prove themselves around Europe. If this continues I believe we will see more Turkish players in the Premier League next season.”
The 26-year-old was in Istanbul yesterday taking in the sights and sounds so we thought it would be the right time to look at a few Turkish players that could end up making the move.
Enes Ünal became the youngest player raised in the Süper Lig to join the Premier League when Manchester City signed him. Here are five potential candidates we could end up seeing in the Premier League one day.
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Turkish footballers abroad
1. Hakan Çalhanoğlu
The boy wonder has been on an upward trajectory for the past few seasons. The Bayer playmaker is regarded as being one of the best set-piece specialists in world football and has received rave reviews from Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola who said: “Çalhanoğlu is one of the best free-kick takers in the Bundesliga.” Çalhanoğlu actually has the highest number of free-kick goals in the top five leagues in Europe – Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1. The 21-year-old has more to his games than free-kicks. Çalhanoğlu has great technique, passing ability and vision. This time next season he may have the luxury of picking just about any major club he desires. The young playmaker had a total of 13 goals and 11 assists last season.
