West Ham are one of 15 European clubs that will have scouts in the stands to watch Oguzhan Ozyakup this evening. They will watch him play for Besiktas against Lyon in the Europa League quarter final, reports CNN Turkey.
The Hammers have been linked with the midfielder for well over a year with Slaven Bilic having managed the player during his spell in charge of Besiktas between 2013 and 2015.
It looks like the Croatian will have a number of clubs competing with him to sign the 24 year old with fellow Premier League sides Everton & Southampton and Championship club Aston Villa among those sending representatives to Istanbul for tonight’s game.
Others at the game will be European heavyweights Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan, and German clubs Borussia Dortmund, Borussia Monchengladbach, Stuttgart, Hannover and Schalke 04. Dutch sides FC Twente and PSV Eindhoven as well as Belgian club Anderlecht will also have scouts in attendance.
Lyon lead Besiktas 2-1 heading into the second leg. The first match was marred by crowd trouble with both clubs fined and given suspended two year bans from Europe.
