Everton want Galatasaray’s Barış Alper Yılmaz to improve their attack and have already made an attempt to sign him.
The winger joined the Turkish club from Ankara Keçiörengücü in 2021 and has been a regular in recent years.
Last season, he managed 12 goals and 16 assists from 49 matches. His displays have attracted interest from Everton and others.
In April, we relayed news of Arsenal interest, but the Gunners are unlikely to sign him after Christos Tzolis’ arrival.
Last month, Sport Witness covered claims from Turkey of Nottingham Forest making a move. The Toffees are the latest Premier League side to join the race for the 26-year-old.
Everton won’t give up easily
Turkish journalist Yağız Sabuncuoğlu took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to report that Galatasaray have rejected Everton’s €35m verbal offer.
David Moyes’ side won’t give up and will return with an improved offer this week to sign Barış Alper Yılmaz.
He makes no mention of Galatasaray’s stance or the fee the English club are willing to propose.
HT Spor backs up Sabuncuoğlu’s claim and provide more clarity on the Istanbul club and the player’s stance.
Everton need €15m more
The Süper Lig winners find Everton’s €35m offer insufficient and are demanding €50m. It’s unclear whether their request is including or excluding bonuses.
If Galatasaray want €50m as a fixed fee, the Merseyside club would have to break their record. Their current record is €49.4m to sign Gylfi Sigurdsson in 2017. However, there’s almost certainly room for negotiation there.
The Turkey international dreams of moving to the Premier League, something which has been relayed for over a year in Turkey.
David Moyes’ side can fulfil his dream, provided they return with a big offer. Meanwhile, HT Spor journalist Semih Durası has urged Galatasaray not to sell Barış Alper Yılmaz.
“He has a very different quality; he has incredible physical attributes. At the start of the season, Galatasaray don’t have a backup striker. Barış, however, can play as a backup striker when needed; he showed this last season,” he said.
“It’s not easy to replace Barış Alper. We’re talking about a player who plays 3,500-4,000 minutes per season. If Galatasaray send him away, who can they get in his place? If you get Leão, he has no resemblance to Barış Alper. And there’s currently no player on the market who can strengthen the game in the style of Barış. Also, it’s very difficult to find someone better than Barış in the domestic player category.
“The real question here is: Is money more important, or the performance you’ll get from that position throughout the season? I believe it’s unlikely that a replacement for Barış will be able to provide the same level of contribution in terms of strengthening the game, supporting the team with physical strength, and putting in maximum effort in every match, both in the league and in Europe.”