Mourinho Looks to Build Unstoppable Fenerbahçe
The Special One has Raphael Varane, Arda Guler, and Memphis Depay on his radar
In recent days, it was announced that Portuguese coach José Mourinho would join Fenerbahçe, which finished second in the Turkish SüperLig with 99 points, with a lucrative contract and a salary of around 11.3 million dollars per year. The arrival of “The Special One” has excited all the fans due to his extensive track record.
The "Sarı Kanarya" management dreams of winning a top division championship (the last time they achieved this was in 2013), so they have given the Portuguese strategist carte blanche –with certain restrictions– to try to build an unstoppable team. Mourinho’s mastermind has started to devise a list of players that fit his scheme.
Edin Dzeko and Michy Batshuayi had a great season; however, both are practically out of the club. One of the players rumored to be heading to Istanbul is Memphis Depay, who currently plays as a forward for Atlético de Madrid in LaLiga.
In addition to the Dutch forward, names like Argentine Paulo Dybala or Romelu Lukaku have been mentioned. Both have experience playing under Mou at Roma; similarly, it is rumored that Jesse Lingard, 31, could leave 1 FC Seoul in the K League in South Korea to embark on a new adventure.
The Special One has a clear name in mind: Arda Güller. The Turkish gem hails from Fenerbahçe and has gradually begun to shine with Real Madrid, with whom he has already won a Spanish League and a Champions League. However, the young midfielder's great performance has caught the strategist's eye, who has indicated that he would like to bring him back.
“If Arda Güler returns on loan to Fenerbahçe and Madrid pays 75 percent of his salary, in this case, I would want Güler in this team. But players like Arda generally prefer to stay at a huge club like Real Madrid. If Arda Güler wants to come, why not? If he loves Fenerbahçe, if he comes for free and if Real Madrid pays 75% of his salary, we cannot say ‘no’,” the Portuguese pointed out in his first appearance before the media as Fenerbahçe's coach.
In addition to the attack, defense is one of the strong points in Mourinho's teams, so it has been rumored that Raphael Varane, also a former pupil of The Special One in Madrid, could arrive at the coach's explicit request. The former world champion would be arriving at zero cost.
A key piece in the season's closing for the “Sarı-Lacivertliler” was central defender Çağlar Söyüncü, who is on loan from Atlético de Madrid – a team where Diego Pablo Simeone wasted him by not playing him – and they will do everything possible to negotiate his transfer for a considerably low price. Atlético values the defender at 10 million euros.
Other members of the Atlético squad who could be on Mou and Fenerbahçe's wish list are César Azpilicueta and Stefan Savic. And, although it sounds far-fetched, the Turkish management trusts that big names like Antoine Griezmann could be lured by the sports project with a great strategist in charge.
