Manchester United and Tottenham offered free-agent Mesut Ozil called ‘incredible’

There is certainly no shortage of high-profile players still without a club, despite Europe’s major leagues all returning to action weeks ago.

The likes of Adrien Rabiot, Memphis Depay, Andre Gomes, Wissam Ben Yedder, Mats Hummels and Anthony Martial are all without a club, Lille president Olivier Letang ruling out a deal for the latter over the weekend.

Yusuf Yazici is another on the lookout for a fresh start.

At 27 years of age, Yazici is one of the younger of the big-name freebies. His Lille deal expired at the start of July. And while three months have passed since then, HITC have been told that there is still plenty of interest from clubs looking to add more depth to their squad in the midfield department.

Manchester United and Tottenham contacted about Yusuf Yazici

Galatasaray are leading the chase, looking to bring the 45-cap Turkey international back home.

Former Lille boss Paulo Fonseca would jump at the chance to work alongside Yazici again at AC Milan, with Serie A rivals Lazio also in the mix.

HITC can confirm that a host of Premier League clubs have been made approached too.

Aston Villa, Tottenham and Newcastle are among them. As are Wolves, Southampton, Fulham and a West Ham side who are reportedly pursuing one free-agent already in former Liverpool defender Joel Matip.

Manchester United are also in the mix. HITC have been told that the Red Devils would have to move Christian Eriksen out the door first, however.

Eriksen’s agent told Voetbal International this week that the veteran Dane would rather stay and fight for his place at Old Trafford, having turned his nose up at interest from America, the Middle East and Turkey.

Yazici, a tall, elegant attacking midfielder with a decent goalscoring record, was part of the Lille team which surprisingly snatched the Ligue 1 title from under the noses of perennial champions Paris Saint-Germain back in 2021.

Yazici has hit double figures in three separate seasons too. He scored a career-best 14 back in 2020/21, netting Europa League hat-tricks against both Sparta Prague and current suitors AC Milan. Yazici may also have caught Villa’s eye when he scored against them in last season’s Conference League.

Interestingly, Yazici was once tipped to become the face of Turkish football by none other than Mesut Ozil back in 2018.

Former Lille ace labelled ‘incredible’ by Mesut Ozil

And Yazici has enjoyed a lot more success than the other name put forward by the Turkish-born former Germany superstar. Abdulkadir Omur is currently at Hull City.

“I really like Trabzonspor duo Yusuf Yazici and Abdulkadir Omur. They are incredible talents,” Ozil told Hurriyet six years ago.

“Yusuf Yazici is an amazing No 10. We have a lot of similarities; his left foot, his position, his passing, and calmness on the ball.

“We will see Yusuf at a big European club in the near future.”

Approaching his peak years, and with the likes of Man United, Tottenham and Aston Villa having been contacted, there is still time for Ozil’s prediction to come true.

HITC understands that Yazici is asking for an eye-watering wage in the region of £100,000-a-week, however. Furthermore, there are few clubs in the Premier League with enough slots left in their roster.

Fulham may be one club to keep a close eye on.

Yazici’s agent claimed back in 2022 that The Cottagers had held talks with Lille, alongside Nottingham Forest.

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