Arsenal are closing in on the signing of Fenerbahce left-back Ferdi Kadioglu according to journalist Devrim Zengi.

Speaking to Karar (quotes via TBRFootball), Zengi said that, after a conversation with the player’s father, he got the strong impression that the defender would be moving to the Emirates this summer:

“Ferdi Kadioglu is meeting with Arsenal, Ferdi shook hands. His father, Feyzullah Kadioglu, did not say ‘yes, he is going to Arsenal, we made an agreement with Arsenal’ but from the questions I asked and the answers I received, I understood that Ferdi Kadioglu agreed with the Premier League giant Arsenal.”

It’s probably wise to take this information with a very large pinch of salt. Turkish journalism is among the least reliable in the whole of Europe and we’ll leave it up to you to decide whether you believe Zengi’s claims.

How much would Kadioglu cost?

Previous reports have suggested that Fenerbahce would demand at least €30m (£26m) for the 24-year-old.

It isn’t a massive fee and, considering Arsenal are unlikely to have a huge amount of money to spend this summer, a deal for someone like Kadioglu would make a lot of sense.

Arsenal would be signing a Zinchenko replacement

Kadioglu was a midfielder earlier in his career before he was converted into a defender. It means he is very comfortable when deployed as an inverted fullback.

Considering there are doubts over the long-term future of Oleksandr Zinchenko, it may suggest that Kadioglu is being lined up to replace the Ukrainian international.

Of course, with Jurrien Timber, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Jakub Kiwior also capable of playing on the left-hand side of defence, you could argue that Zinchenko doesn’t need to be replaced.

We shall see if more credible reports about a move for Kadioglu emerge over the coming days and weeks.