Manchester City are reportedly set to battle Manchester United in the pursuit of SC Freiburg star Caglar Soyuncu, who is a self-proclaimed fan of Jose Mourinho.
A source close to the player has revealed to Turkish Football that Manchester City and Manchester United are interested in SC Freiburg star Caglar Soyuncu. The player has taken to Bundesliga with aplomb and has put in impressive displays, which seems to have caught the attention of the Manchester duo.
All of 20, Soyuncu is already a full-fledged Turkish international and has made the move to one of the top European clubs at the start of the 2016-17 campaign, having made his senior debut in Turkey, with Altinordu.
16 appearances in Bundesliga with an assist to his name, Soyuncu is a regular at the back for SC Freiburg, who have struggled in two of the three games the 20-year-old has missed in the league so far, which only goes to show how important a part Soyuncu has become in what is his debut season at Schwarzwald-Stadion.
Manchester City’s interest in the player does make sense. Guardiola had signed John Stones in the summer but the former Everton star has failed to impress Pep. City has been scouring for an addition at the back and Soyuncu, who is comfortable with both feet, does seem to fit the profile of a Guardiola defender.
Man City join & Man Utd in race for Freiburg CB Caglar Soyuncu who admits he admires Mou but would suit Pep’s style https://t.co/CxldOZVqCI pic.twitter.com/zkEAZIp2Rd
— Turkish Football (@Turkish_Futbol1) February 6, 2017
Soyuncu’s agent Mustafa Dogru confirmed City’s interest.
“Manchester City have made contact to us through a third party. Caglar is the type of defender that suits Pep Guardiola’s style and his goal is to play Premier League football but he is focused on Freiburg until the end of the season. We will not discuss future plans until the end of the season.”
However, Manchester United could prove to be City’s undoing in their pursuit of Soyuncu. United themselves are scouring for an able partner to summer signing Eric Bailly and the fact that Caglar Soyuncu is a vocal admirer of Jose Mourinho does no favour to City’s cause.
Soyuncu had earlier said,“ I admire Jose Mourinho, not just his football but his philosophy. I would like to work with him in the future.”
Manchester United are also credited with interest in the 20-year-old and the defender’s admiration for the Portuguese manager might be decisive in the battle of the local Manchester rivals. City, though, are unlikely to give up without a fight.
It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the summer transfer window. For now though, SC Freiburg would hope Soyuncu can continue or maybe even improve on his displays in the Bundesliga.
