Report: Crystal Palace closing in on Ozan Tufan deal, amid links with Leeds United

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Turkish newspaper Fanatik have claimed that Crystal Palace are to complete a move to sign Fenerbahce midfielder Ozan Tufan this summer having come close to landing the ball-player in 2018 – amid reports that Leeds United are also interested.

Tufan, 26, has continued to catch the eye this season with some excellent performances for Fener. The 58-time international has been involved in 14 goals from midfielder and wore the captain’s armband on numerous occasions for his side.

However, his efforts will not see Fener win the league title. With three league games to play, Besiktas sit five points clear and are expected to win the league. Fotomac claimed this week that Leeds were looking to tie up a deal for Tufan before Euro 2020.

Fanatik, however, claim that Palace are keen to get him and are willing to pay his £17.5million release clause, without even trying to negotiate a smaller fee. It is claimed that he almost joined in 2018, but now, Palace are closing in on the midfielder.

TBR’s view – Is Tufan worth the £17.5m fee?

Players have come over from Turkey in recent history to the Premier League and have struggled, while others have done well. Cenk Tosun is the most-obvious example, struggling since his £27million move to Everton from Besiktas.

The Turkish league is some way below the Premier League but what must be considered is that Tufan has already clocked up a whopping 58 caps for his country, and done well in Europe. While he might not be worth that fee, he is still a very good player.