Unravelling the mystery of Sunderland’s reported transfer interest in Turkish star Ozan Tufan

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It seems that Turkish international Ozan Tufan is a wanted man this summer. The Fenerbahce midfielder is all set to leave the Istanbul club, as reported by Fotospor. His agent confirmed to Turkish Football recently that the 24-year-old has a £17 million release clause and plenty of teams are being linked with a potential swoop. 

As reported by Hurriyet, Premier League outfits Tottenham Hotspur and Everton are two of the teams in the hunt for a player with over 40 caps for Turkey.

But it is also reported that Sunderland could be ready to battle Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti for the Fenerbahce captain. 

So is a move to the Stadium of Light possible?

Sunderland are currently playing in League One, presently have no chance of affording that £17 million fee and are up against, it seems, a host of top clubs. So the simplest answer, is no. 

Fanatik’s initial report on Tufan suggests the British press first claimed the Black Cats’ interest in the player. They also mention Everton and Southampton as keen, with Tottenham not named.

That report also alludes to the fact that Sunderland’s interest did not come this season. Considering that Tufan was considered surplus to requirements at Fenerbahce and was out on loan with Alanyaspor last term, that could make sense. 

However, since then he has fought his way back into the Fenerbahce first-team. Recently he has been handed the captaincy. That form resulted in his new contract, which includes the £17m break fee. 

That said, the most likely reason behind Sunderland’s name being attached to this transfer rumour appears to stem from reports in June. Not June of last year, but June 2016. 

Tufan had just starred at the European Championships and Sunderland, at the time, were in the Premier League. The Chronicle stated that then Stadium of Light boss Sam Allardyce was keen on the player. And why not? Tufan was being dubbed ‘the next Yaya Toure’. The other teams mentioned in this report were, again, Everton and Southampton. That seems remarkably similar to initial reports linking Sunderland with Tufan again this month.

It seems a 2016 rumour, when Sunderland might have had a chance of signing a £17 million international, has been spat back out into 2020. But Sunderland fans can undoubtedly forget about this potential signing for the time being.