‘I’m sure that one day we’ll see Calhanoglu play for us,’ claims Galatasaray chief

Galatasaray vice-President Abdullah Kavukcu has made no secret of the fact that Inter’s Hakan Calhanoglu remains a top target for the club after making a series of attempts for the Turkiye national team captain over the last two transfer windows: ‘I don’t know when, but I’m sure that one day he will play for us’.

Calhanoglu has been a target for Galatasaray in each of the last two transfer windows. 

Reports over the summer claimed that the Nerazzurri had turned down an offer of €17m for the recently-turned 32-year-old shortly after their Champions League final defeat against Paris Saint-Germain, but that fee was roughly half of Inter’s asking price, which was said to be in the region of €30m-€35m.

There were also reports that Galatasaray had improved on that offer during the January transfer window, lodging a bid reported to be worth €25m for Calhanoglu, but Inter were then unprepared to sell one of their key players midway through the season. 

What Galatasaray director said about interest in Calhanoglu

Despite being turned down twice, Galatasaray remain interested in a deal for Calhanoglu, who watched on from the stands as his teammates were eliminated from the Champions League at the hands of Bodo/Glimt on Tuesday night. 

Speaking in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport published on Wednesday, Galatasaray vice-President Abdullah Kavukcu made it clear that his club still has a strong interest in signing Calhanoglu from Inter. 

“Yes, we made another attempt for Calhanoglu (in Januuary),” Kavukcu said. “There was a discussion with Inter directors, but we were told that Hakan would not leave during the winter window. 

“We’ve never hidden our interest. Hakan is an icon of the Turkish national team and is a Galatasaray supporter. I don’t know when, but I’m sure that one day he will play for us.”