ARSENAL sent scouts to Germany to watch Besiktas star Oguzhan Ozyakup in action – only for him to spend the entire match on the bench.
The Gunners are tracking the Turkey star as they look to strengthen their squad over the summer and had wanted to see him up close against Bayern Munich.
According to the Mirror, Arsene Wenger sent scouts to Munich last night to see how he performed against the Bundesliga giants, only to come back empty handed.
For Ozyakup, 25, did not make the starting eleven for the Champions league last 16 match – and couldn’t even get a chance to shine as a substitute.
That may have been a blessing for the highly-rated Dutch-born player, as Besiktas crashed to a thumping 5-0 defeat in the Allianz Arena to all but end their European dreams for another season.
Despite the lack of match action last night, the Gunners are still keen to keep tabs on Ozyakup with the view to bringing him to the club at the end of the season.
His current deal with Besiktas runs out at the end of June and he would be available on a free transfer.
And it is understood Arsenal have already made contact with his agents to put in place an offer to snap him up this summer.
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Ozyakup holds a strong connection with the North London club having spent five years at the Emirates at the start of his career.
He came through the Arsenal academy system, and even made the bench for the first team in Premier League and Champions League matches in 2011.
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But with his path to a first team opportunity blocked at the time, Arsenal allowed him to make the move to Besiktas in 2012 to continue his development.
Since then he has gone on to flourish with the Turkish club, and now Wenger is keen to bring him back to London to bolster his squad.
There are expected to be a number of arrivals at the Gunners over the summer, with the club looking to strengthen across defence and midfield.
And a free transfer for a player who has performed well at Champions League level for Besiktas is seen as an obvious gamble to take.
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