‘Worth 60m euros’: Arsenal backed to land 21-year-old midfield wizard who ‘can do anything with the ball’

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Back in 2020, Arsenal were linked with an incredibly talented midfielder named Orkun Kokcu.

Voetbal International claimed at the time that the Gunners had been eyeing the Feyenoord ace “for a long time”.

Now, former Feyenoord ace Ali Boussaboun has tipped the 21-year-old to join a club “such as Arsenal”.

Kokcu burst onto the scene during the 2019-20 campaign, but his form dropped off somewhat the following season.

But since Arne Slot took the Feyenoord reins, the Turkey international is now living up to his potential once again.

Kokcu is now thriving as a deep-lying midfielder, and has five goals and six assists to his name in 2021-22.

Indeed, the 13-cap ace won the Eredivisie Player of the Month award for January.

And Boussaboun, speaking to RTV Rijnmond, believes the Emirates Stadium would be a good level for Kokcu.

The 42-year-old also reckons Kokcu could cost between £42million and £50.5million.

“Kokcu looks good,” Boussaboun said. 

“Perhaps (he won’t settle at) the absolute top but certainly at the ‘sub-top’. Clubs such as Arsenal.

“Kokcu may be worth fifty or sixty million euros in the future.”

“He can do anything with the ball”

In November 2020, Behind the Lines spoke to scout Ali Can Kutlu about Kokcu.

“Orkun is a great, great central attacking midfielder who can also play central mid,” said Kutlu.

“What stands out most is his technical abilities. His ball control, his first touch, his passes; long passes especially.

“His short passes are great too, but he is also a great long passer who can play through balls over the defensive line.

“He can do anything with the ball he wants, he’s very smart so he knows what to do as well. His poor decisions are very rare to see.

“Also, his long shots are pretty good, he can score goals from outside the box which makes him very valuable not only as a playmaker but also as a proper attacking player.”

Arsenal are certainly in need of bolstering their midfield ranks in the summer.

And in Kokcu, they’d be getting their hands on one of Europe’s most impressive young midfielders.