Newcastle United have reportedly registered an interest in the services of 23-year-old Fenerbahce goalkeeper Altay Bayindir.
According to Turkish football journalist Ekrem Konur, Newcastle United have set their sights on Fenerbahce goalkeeper Altay Bayindir. The Premier League outfit is keen on bolstering their options in the upcoming January transfer window, with the 23-year-old emerging as an ideal candidate.
A native of Bursa, Bayindir has enjoyed a rapid rise to prominence in recent years. The goalkeeper initially joined Fenerbahce in 2019, for a fee of just €1.5 million. It turned out to be a bargain for the Turkish giants as the youngster immediately made his breakthrough in the Turkish Superlig, with a total of 32 league appearances.
Since then, Bayindir has featured in 83 competitive matches for Fener. His impressive performances in goal even saw him win his first cap for Turkey in March, although he was not the nation’s first-choice goalkeeper during the European Championship in the summer.
The 23-year-old is certainly not regarded as an emerging goalkeeper in Turkey either due to a certain Ersin Destanoglu. But Newcastle United believe that he has what it takes to become a top goalkeeper in England and provide competition for the likes of Martin Dubravka, Freddie Woodman and Karl Darlow.
Woodman, though, has been linked with a move away from Tyneside. Arsenal, for one, have been previously linked with the Englishman, who could be considered as a potential replacement for Bernd Leno.
However, it is fair to point out that Newcastle United’s goalkeeping department is in good stead. Both Dubravka and Darlow have proven themselves to be reliable first-choice goalkeepers, so the club’s interest in Bayindir is rather bizarre.
The 23-year-old is not the only Fenerbahce player targeted by Newcastle, though. His teammate and former Arsenal superstar Mesut Ozil is has recently been identified as a top target for the club, as they look to boost their profile after successfully completing a massive takeover by a Saudi-backed consortium.
It remains to be seen whether Newcastle United can manage to land any of these Fenerbahce stars, but it is apparent that a huge wave of new prospects are coming to Tyneside in the near future and these are certainly exciting times for the fans, as they look forward to the new era.
