Fulham and Aston Villa have had offers rejected by Besiktas for Manchester City target Semih Kilicsoy, according to Sabah (via HITC).
The Turkish news outlet claims that the striker is expected to remain at Besiktas this summer, despite interest from the Premier League.
Kilicsoy’s performances over the last twelve months have been watched by a whole host of English clubs, with the teenager having hit the back of the net 12 times in 35 appearances last season.
HITC themselves have reported that both City and Arsenal have been keeping a close eye on the 18-year-old, who also made his debut for Turkey at senior level in early June.
Kilicsoy played in two friendlies in the build-up to Euro 2024, coming on as a substitute against Italy before making his first start versus Poland in a 2-1 defeat.
At the tournament itself in Germany, the forward did not make it off the bench before the final few minutes of the 2-1 loss to the Netherlands in the quarter-finals. Many do feel that he has a very bright future ahead of him.
City are looking to replace Alvarez
With Julian Alvarez set to complete his £82m move to Atletico Madrid at the beginning of next week, there is certainly room in the first-team squad for a new No.9.
Considering Kilicsoy’s age, he wouldn’t demand first-team opportunities straight away so he could be satisfied with being a backup option for Erling Haaland.
However, many supporters would probably want a more experienced replacement for Alvarez. The Argentine scored 19 goals and provided 13 assists in all competitions for City last campaign, and those figures are unlikely to be replicated by Kilicsoy; not straight away anyway. Alternatives such as Real Madrid’s Rodrygo Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze could be considered instead.
Find out who is in Manchester City’s first-team squad for 2024/2025 season here