The reasoning behind Arsenal and Man Utd's interest in Ferdi Kadioglu

 

Euro 2024 was the tournament that propelled Ferdi Kadioglu into the mainstream. The Turkiye star wasn't exactly an unknown heading into the tournament with his performances attracting interest from Arsenal in the past but his importance in the Crescent-Stars' run to the quarter-finals has seen the list of potential suitors rise exponentially. One thing is for certain, the Gunners won't have a clear run at the versatile Turkiye international this summer. 

 

Manchester United, Newcastle and Brighton are among those to have sat up and taken notice of Kadioglu's Euros performances. With the number of potential suitors rising, a bidding war may well be on the cards for the Fenerbahce man. Whoever wins this war, though, will land themselves one of the most impressive full-backs playing outside of Europe's top leagues. 

 

The 24-year-old is hardly an unknown on the continent given links with a move to Arsenal in recent months but it's taken Euro 2024 for Kadioglu to become a prominent full-back. A WhoScored rating of 7.24 was enough for the defender to make the Super Lig team of the season at left-back, and it's in this role where he excelled in Germany up to and including Turkiye's quarter-final exit at the hands of the Netherlands. 

 

 

Those who did pay close attention to Fenerbahce's 2023/24 campaign, though, will have watched on as Kadioglu made more key passes (50) than any other defender, that ranking 18th overall in the Super Lig, and complete 57 dribbles, that ranking sixth in the division. And while Arda Guler was Turkiye's star performer at Euro 2024, Kadioglu ran the Real Madrid teen a close second. 

 

Given the license to bombard up the left flank by head coach Vincenzo Montella, Kadioglu didn't need a second invitation to get forward to provide an alternative attacking outlet for Turkiye. At the time of writing, only Germany's Joshua Kimmich (15) has made more key passes from open play than Kadioglu (12) at Euro 2024. While he was unable to register an assist up until Saturday's exit, it was evidently not for want of trying. 

 

As Turkiye focussed the majority of their attacks down the left (36%) a major reason for that return being so high was down to Kadioglu. Vincenzo Montella tasked Kadioglu with holding the width for the national team this summer and he did so superbly. Any side targeting a right or left-back to overlap the wingers as a means of stretching opponents should place the Fenerbahce star high on their wishlist. 

 

And it's not just Kadioglu's impressive attacking output that caught the eye in Germany either. Indeed, he is a defensively diligent operator who knows how to protect his side's goal well. Not only does Kadioglu rank top for tackles (18), returning a success rate of 85.7% in the process, but he's second for possession won in the defensive third (19) and fifth for interceptions (7) at the Euros to reinforce a statistically calculated WhoScored strength of 'defensive contribution'.

 

 

The solid reading of the game was key to Turkiye's ability to spring rapid counter attacks, which was important for a side that currently ranks 14th for possession (48.9%). Only three teams have attempted more counter attacks than Turkiye (6) at Euro 2024; Montella's side are one of three to have scored multiple counter-attacking goals at the tournament. 

 

While many have been reluctant to make a move for Kadioglu as he played outside one of the household European leagues, his performances at Euro 2024 give no doubt that he can transition his game from the Super Lig to the Premier League with ease. With the importance of attacking full-backs still high, even as Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta seek to make it fashionable to operate with four centre-backs across the defence, it's hardly surprising to see Kadioglu linked with a high-profile summer move to England.

The reasoning behind Arsenal and Man Utd's interest in Ferdi Kadioglu