Manchester United may rue not signing Orkun Kokcu this summer with Fabrizio Romano reporting that the Feyenoord captain is set to join Benfica in a deal which will see a £103 million release clause inserted into his contract.
And as Erik ten Hag and co have already discovered this summer, when Benfica say that one of their star players will not be leaving for a penny less than his release clause, they tend to mean it.
The Portuguese champions are demanding in excess of £100 million for Goncalo Ramos; one of a handful of centre-forwards on Manchester United’s radar.
What’s more, just five months ago, Benfica sold Enzo Fernandez to Chelsea for a fee which made the World Cup winner the most expensive footballer in British history.
Orkun Kokcu will, for all intents and purposes, step into Fernandez’s shoes at the Estadio da Luz. After emerging onto the Eredivisie scene as a something akin to a number ten, Kokcu has blossomed in a deep-lying playmaker role under Arne Slot, captaining Feyenoord to only their second top-flight title in the 21st century.
Benfica set to win race for Feyenoord captain Orkun Kokcu
Rotterdam-based publication 1908 reported back in April that Kokcu was being watched by the Old Trafford outfit.
Feyenoord value the Dutch-born Turkey at less than £30 million. A fraction of the fee required for Declan Rice or Moises Caicedo, even if Kokcu lacks their Premier League.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Benfica are now likely to sign Kokcu for just £25 million; a medical scheduled for later this week and a contract until 2028 waiting to be signed.
Hypothetically speaking, if United renew their interest somewhere down the line, they’d need to stump up some £80 million more. Benfica will protect Kokcu’s value with the sort of colossal release clause they are becoming famous for.
There will, of course, be a rather mixed response to such news.
On one hand, some will be frustrated that Man United once again appear reluctant to take a punt on an extremely-talented youngster when he is available for a bargain fee. Like when missing out on Caicedo to Brighton to the tune of just £4 million.
Some with a better knowledge than us of Dutch football, however, believe that Kokcu needs an ‘intermediate step’ like Benfica before making the move to a bonafide European superpower.
“There is a lot of interest in Kokcu,” Ajax legend Wim Kieft argues, via De Telegraaf. “But a move to the absolute top of European (football) is too big for him.
“It is better to take an intermediate step at clubs such as Benfica or Brighton Hove and Albion. (They) are also interested in him.”
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