The father of Leicester City forward Rachid Ghezzal has revealed that he expects his son to join Besiktas on a permanent basis soon, according to Fanatik.
What's the latest Leicester City transfer news?
Ghezzal hasn't played for the Foxes since March 2019 and has since been farmed out on loan to both Fiorentina and the Turkish giants, where he won the Super Lig last season.
Speaking to Fotomac, the player's father revealed a deal to take him to Istanbul on a permanent basis could soon be reached despite a rival offer from Galatasaray.
"My son is very happy in Besiktas," he said.
"They will compete in the Champions League this season. Ghezzal will 100% continue his career at Besiktas. We expect the transfer to be completed in a short time.
“After my son’s performance this season, Galatasaray also made an offer to us”.
How big of a waste of money was Ghezzal for Leicester?
A £10m signing from Monaco in the summer of 2018, Leicester did not get value for money from this particular deal.
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While the club's recruitment has been praised in recent years, the Algerian international played only 23 times for the 2016 Premier League champions, scoring just three times.
Heading into the final year of his contract, it's hard to imagine Leicester getting anything close to the money they initially spent on him, with The Express recently claiming they were looking for around £5m this summer.
How well did Ghezzal play for Besiktas?
Across 31 league appearances for Besiktas, Ghezzal scored eight times and registered a further seventeen assists, so clearly had a major impact on their title win.
In fact, according to WhoScored data, no one in the entirety of the league averaged as many key passes per game as the 29-year-old (2.9), making it clear to see as to why Besiktas would be so keen to keep him.
What did Claude Puel say about Ghezzal?
Back in January 2019, former Leicester City boss Claude Puel did stress that Ghezzal had the talent to truly convince at the top level though needed to improve his consistency.
“He can bring the squad his quality with his assists, his ability to score," he said (via The Leicester Mercury).
"He has the ability to bring something different.
“He is a technical player, very clever, I hope that he can take the intensity and impact of the Premier League. It’s normal for players who come to the Premier League.
“I hope that he can find consistency in his game, he has all the things.
“His physicality, his consistency, his transitional intensity – if we can (get) him to improve, he will be a fantastic player.”
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