I can see why Mikel Arteta & Arsenal have scouted Ferdi Kadıoğlu!

Now it looks like Arsenal are closing in on the signing of Ricardo Calafoury from Bologna. Before that we were linked with Ferdi. Forgive me people, I'm not even going to attempt to say his last name because one, I mean no disrespect and two, I should have went on Google and listened to how you actually say his name so I'm not going to make a fool of myself. But before, like I said, Calafoury, we were linked with Ferdi. I'm sure you would have attempted to see little clips on YouTube or WeScout or obviously if you've got the means look in the Turkish division. We've seen him impressing for Turkey during the Euros and Turkey, in my opinion, give or take between them and Switzerland at the time of making this vid, are probably the underdog's favourites. Regardless, he's still coming home. Southgate's lifting that trophy. But on a serious note, where you look at Turkey, collectively they're excelling. They've got a lumber of great young attackers. The Galileo's the poster boy. But the young left-back Ferdi has also been doing his thing and I must admit through clearing myself up, doing knowledge on the guy and whatnot, I can see the links. Now, again, it's pretty safe to assume, provided the Calafoury deal goes through, that our pursuit of a left-back or someone that's able to play at left-back, as well as other positions, is probably going to be put to an end. Of course, across the course of the summer, we have been linked with Skolibet. I would have loved Gerald Hatto from Ajax. That seems like that isn't going to happen. We were linked with Ferdi and it seems like the case where this is concerned is going to end with Calafoury. But again, until that man holding scarves around the training ground, wearing the shirt, saying he grew up watching Ian Wright, Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Vieira, Tony Adams, Sol Campbell, the list goes on. We cannot count our chickens before they hatch. And I must admit, I can see why he would be drawn to Arsenal, specifically Mikel Arteta, beyond the obvious. Again, as we know, Turkey are flying during the Euros. They're only a couple of games away, really, from the Euros 2024 final, provided things go their way. And the Fenerbahce full-back has been enhancing his reputation, much like a lot of players. You look at Nico Willems, you look at Yalmal, you look at, obviously, Calafoury, and there's a bunch of them. We all know Mikel Arteta wants to bring in another defensive addition. We all know he wants to bring in a left-sided centre-back or a left-sided centre-back that's able to play left-back or a left-back that's able to play centre-half, in which he's obviously a traditional left-back. But you get the point. Again, Mikel Arteta hasn't told me this, but again, where you look at all the journalists, the more credible journalists, you know, the Romanos, the Ornsties, the Charles Watts, the list goes on. They all mention that Arteta is keen on bringing in a left-sided defender or left-sided reinforcements. Why that is, I'm not too sure, because on the face of it, it appears like we're well-stocked defensively. But the reality is, you know, like, we're only one injury away from really crisis, in my opinion, or one and a half injuries. If someone has to play on an injury and someone's out, we're in trouble. And where you look at Arsenal, I would say the season before the last one that's just gone, that was the first time where we looked equally as threatening and had some consistency down the right as well as the left. Now, as good as Arsenal's season was and all the talking points that that provides, the left-hand side was shot. We had inconsistencies with who obviously is going to play left-sided in midfield, with Granit Xhaka's departure, Jorginho's got a look in, Partey's had injuries, Fabio Vieira and Smith-Rowe haven't quite done the business in that regard. Obviously, where left-back is concerned, you know, Zinchenko's had a couple of knocks, Tomi Asu's had a couple of knocks, Timber would have been a candidate. Unfortunately, he's injured. Kyrgios did get an opportunity, but I wouldn't say he's convinced. And I'm going a bit left and going off topic, but where you look at Martinelli's inconsistencies and, you know, Trossach did very well, but is Trossach seen as an out-and-out starter with Mikel Arteta? Our left-hand side, and it's probably one for another video, looks a bit muddied if I'm in my opinion. And, you know, you'd be doing several calculations to try and work out what's going on, but evidently that would be an area we need to enhance and improve. Now, reports have suggested throughout the last month or so that where Ferdi Kadigoglu, forgive me if I've got it wrong, from Fenerbahce is concerned, we've been linked with him. He's actually able to play left-back and right-back. Now, again, you look at our right-hand side, Benjamin White, Timber, Tomi Asu could all play there. But, you know, in this day and age, it doesn't hurt your chances of being a great player if you can play multiple roles. The 24-year-old, you know, former Dutch youth international, now Turkish international, probably has impressed scouts really and probably has endeared himself to the Turkish faithful from a footballer's perspective. In recent years, he's become one of Fenerbahce's best players and he enjoyed a very fruitful 2023-24. Now, once again, by no means am I an expert on the player or Turkish football, but in an attempt to give you a lot of content and clue myself up on the individual into his profile, I must admit, while I have no real concrete evidence, you know, and I can't say I've watched 20 games from him, I must admit, the vague knowledge that I've clued myself up on, I can see the angle and he is quite intriguing. And if he's not signed for Arsenal, it would be a great signing elsewhere. He's been linked with Borussia Dortmund, for example. You know, since signing for Fenerbahce, you know, in 2018 for 1.4 million quid, you know, after an initial period probably playing in their youth sides, the versatile player broke into the first team. And since then, every season that's gone on since then has risen in importance, people, you know, again, as I'm sure it goes without saying, you know, Turkish football, let alone the international scene, Turkish football fans, it's, you know, it's a madness, you know, football borders on a religion, you know, I live in North London, you know, green lanes was popping when Turkey went through and I kind of want them to go through again. But, you know, you can't be on no silliness if you play for Besiktas, Fenerbahce and them kind of clubs, you know, it's a massive club where everything is going to be highlighted, people, and you need to cope with that pressure. And I think he's done well. And once again, endeared himself, people, he's established himself as a key player. He's been known for his versatility and adaptability. He's able to play in a couple of positions, left-back and right-back. Early on in his career, he was an attacking midfielder. Now, as a full-back myself, we never end up here. You know, you look at Zinchenko, Trent, Alexander-Arnold, nobody grows up wanting to be a right-back. I wanted to be a striker, you know, I did win top goal scorer in a couple of my youth sides, but clearly I wasn't clinical if I bought this with you. So, yeah, man, you know, he's taken those attacking elements to the full-back role. And in the modern day where I'm probably pushing propaganda and exaggerating a bit, but full-backs are very important to the system. They're almost like additional midfielders, you know, they have to still provide width. Evidently, they still have to defend. They have to be narrow and invert and run into midfield and do all of those kinds of things, people. So, I can see once again why we've been linked with him, people. I think he's got a great ability in tight spaces. He picks great passes in forward areas. He's extremely skilled with a ball at his feet and is a skilled operator in that regard. And it's almost like his ball control is like Velcro or a magnet, really. You know, as you would imagine someone that's been schooled in the Dutch way of football or way of life from a footballing perspective, if I'm completely honest, you know, he protects the ball well. He's got a good first touch. He's great in tight spaces, very good on the half-turn, you know, plays forward, plays with his head up as silly as that sounds, very comfortable on the ball, you know, has a lot of versatility in his skillset in terms of getting the better on his teammates, provides a lot of width, got a lot of engine, great, you know, low sense of gravity, a decent strength. And he shows a willingness, despite not being the biggest of figures, he shows a willingness to get stuck in, if I'm very honest with you, and he's a bit tigerish in that regard. And again, people, you look at the time of making this vid, where he's during this Euro 2024 campaign. At a point he created, you know, he's the first player, or better yet, the only player to create five-plus chances, make five-plus tackles, five-plus interceptions, win five-plus draws, and complete five-plus take-ons. No player has created more chances from open play, people, and only João Paulinho of Portugal has won more draws than the defender. Paulinho won 29, he won 28. Where you look at him versus other full-backs in the Turkish division, he was first for passes, first for key passes, first for accelerations, first for progressive runs, first for forward passes, first for deep completions, first for progressive passes, first for final third passes. Passes in the penalty area, he was also first. Successful attacking actions, he was first. While for dribbles, he ranked second for shot assists, if I've never heard that before, but propaganda, second. Foul suffered, second. Through passes, second. Offensive drills, second. So, he's established himself as one of the, if not the best full-back in the Turkish division, and for a full-back, those stats are quite promising, really. Now, of course, you want to hear about the defensive stuff, if I'm completely honest, and I'd say one evident area I've seen. I don't think he's got significant weaknesses defensively. I do think he can concede some silly fouls. Obviously, it's mainly due to height. I think he's okay in terms of aerial drills, but that's evidently an area that is, I would say, is a weakness of his. I think he's a very good passer, man, if I'm honest, and I think if Arsenal or anyone else was genuinely interested, he would be a quote-unquote low-cost squad player addition, and he's got a lot of durability. He rarely gets injured people, and I do think, you know, coaches have to be alerted to his standout quality, which is his ability to perform and play well in multiple positions, providing whatever coach with tactical flexibility, and he's also a good dribbler, if you didn't know that already, people. I like him a lot. In terms of cons, I think the timing of his tackles, as I've alluded to, could evidently improve. You know, at five foot seven, five foot eight, you know, again, I do think he puts himself around in the air for someone who's not the tallest, but this could be an area, people, and I do think he could improve and fine-tune in terms of, you know, his drills and not conceding silly fouls, people, if I'm honest with you, and I don't want to be snooty, but people might say, you know what, the Turkish division is not the greatest of leagues. It's not essentially a top five league in Europe, respectfully, but for a man that's contracted till 2026, with his stock rising due to his exploits in that division, and obviously for Turkey, it remains to be seen how much Fenerbahce will demand of him. He's been linked with Arsenal, Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund, amongst any other club's people, so you can see why, you know, when you look at the eye, using the eye test and using your eyes and statistically, you can see that this is a 24-year-old with good, general, well-rounded abilities, both in the defensive and offensive aspects, so you can see why he'd be linked to people. He also, for non-penalty goals, ranks in the 98th percentile, people, which obviously reflects his effectiveness in potentially finding the back of the net for a full-back, really and truly. So, yeah, he shines offensively. His defensive stats are not poor, you know. He ranks in the 97th percentile, for example, for tackles, so he's quite a formidable presence in retaining and regaining possession and in all phases of play, if I'm honest with you. You know, he ranks high in the 97th percentile for clearances, sorry, 60, he's in the 60th percentile for clearances, where interceptions are concerned, he's 97th, in the 97th percentile, so there's a lot to like about this individual overall, man. I think it illustrates a player with a very comprehensive skill set, you know, has multiple layers and facets to his game and able to contribute in the middle, defensive and final third. And he's also made 199 appearances for Fenerbahce, so there's a level of experience. As I said, I do think Arsenal have moved away from him, where California is concerned, but I can see the links and if there is any spanner in the works for California, then I could, you know, I'm more warm into this potential signing. But that's just my thoughts, people. Don't forget to smash the like button, comment your own thoughts, subscribe and all of that. Thank you for listening. On that note, peace.