Mourinho turns attention to Chelsea target after Barcelona snub

Tom Weber

• Updated: 8 Jul 2024 20:16 BST
• 3 min read

Fenerbahce have turned their attention to Wesley Gassova after being rejected by Ansu Fati, according to a report.

The Istanbul giants will try to be incredibly ambitious in the transfer market this summer after missing out on the Super Lig title in heartbreaking fashion last season. Despite only losing once, they were pipped to the title by Galatasaray.

Worse yet, their hated city rivals have just snapped up Fenerbahce's star striker Michy Batshuayi in what is possibly the craziest transfer of the summer. However, with Jose Mourinho now at the helm, Fener are keen to avoid a repeat of last season.

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Having already signed former Premier League defender Caglar Soyuncu permanently from Atletico Madrid, Mourinho and company are now keen to bolster their attack.

Initially, they had wanted to sign out-of-favour Barcelona winger Ansu Fati, who is coming off an underwhelming loan stint at Brighton. However, according to AS, the former wonderkid made it clear that he wants to stay at Barcelona and fight for his place.

Fener want Wesley

This, it is claimed, has now led to Fenerbahce turning their attention to highly-rated Corinthians prospect Wesley Gassova, potentially making for an awkward situation between Mourinho and the club he attained legendary status at: Chelsea.

That is because Chelsea have also been linked with the Brazilian wonderkid, who has been compared to Kylian Mbappe due to having a similar stride and playstyle.

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Gassova, it was recently claimed, would prefer to take his first steps in Europe in a 'lesser' league before eventually making the step up to the Premier League. This could give Fenerbahce the edge over Chelsea, but they face stiff competition from Ligue 1.

The 19-year-old is expected to cost €20 million to €30m, which would make him Fener's record signing by quite some distance, casting doubt some on their ability to complete this deal.