Chelsea, Arsenal, many others interested in 19-year-old Feyenoord midfielder Orkun Kökçü — report

According to Dutch news outlet Voetbal International, Chelsea, Arsenal, Sevilla, Valencia and Real Betis are just some of the clubs in the Premier League and La Liga most interested in Feyenoord midfielder Orkun Kökçü.

The 19-year-old joined Feyenoord in 2014 as a youth player, coming from the ranks of fellow Eredivisie side FC Groningen. He made his debut four years later, during the 2018-19 season, in a KNVB Cup match, and has since become a key player for Dick Advocaat, making 32 appearances already this season. He’s also played for both the Netherlands (his country of birth) and, most recently, Turkey (his country of ancestry) youth teams at international level.

While he signed a new four-year contract just last summer, his emergence has made the terms of that deal somewhat unfavorable. Clearly, his agent is drumming up some chatter in the markets, either to motivate his current club into a payrise, or to find his client a lucrative move abroad.

It’s working already, as according to the report, Feyenoord are willing to extend his contract by a year, to 2024, while improving his wages markedly as well.

Of course Kökçü himself apparently wants to stay at Feyenoord for the time being, and keep developing with regular playing time, and we’ve all heard this story a million times. But perhaps keep the name in mind for the future.