Real Madrid is willing to rival Barcelona in the race to sign Fenerbahce’s highly-rated attacking midfielder Arda Guler. The Turkish 18-year-old who plays for Fenerbache had a contract until 2025 but has a £15m release clause in his contract.

Barcelona was in the front row for the signing of the player and sent representatives to Istanbul to talk to the player, with the former midfielder and Portuguese Deco leading the delegation. Furthermore, Barcelona president Julien Laporta confirmed that they have been in talks with the Turkish club.

“We are talking to Fenerbahçe for Arda Güler. All the top European clubs want him. Arda is a very young Turkish player, and it is true that our scouting department has been following him for a long time,” Barça president Laporta said.

However, Real Madrid has now immediately countered and sent Butragueño and Roberto Carlos, who once played for the Turkish club to meet with the player’s representatives. The Los Blancos still have to do more than that to beat their rivals, who are ready to pay in excess of €22M.

Real Madrid must be ready to pay beyond that, although the player’s preference for the Los Blancos may boost the chances of the capital club securing his services.

Barcelona have been busy in the summer transfer window, having signed Ilkay Gundogan from Manchester City on a free transfer and Mikayil Faye from Croatia.

They are also hoping to get more deals over the line after seeing two of their key players leave at the end of last season after winning the La Liga title.

Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba have both left the club at the end of last season, although they could lose more players, especially with the Saudi raid with Frank Kessie, one of the players recently linked to a move away.

Daniel Ademiju Idowu