Tigers cash in on Hornets’ exit out of top flight
TUFAN DEAL BECAME POSSIBLE AFTER WATFORD’S RELEGATION
Hull City have been able to take advantage of Watford’s relegation by snaring Ozan Tufan from Turkish giants Fenerbahce on a permanent deal. The Turkish international is on the cusp of sealing a permanent move to the MKM Stadium after City agreed a fee with Fenerbahce which could rise to £4m should the Tigers win promotion.
Personal terms have been agreed with the player who is keen to return to England after leaving in January following a difficult spell in Hertfordshire.
Tufan was signed amid much fervour last August when he arrived at Vicarage Road from the Super Lig outfit on a season-long loan deal, and so confident were the Hornets about their work in the market, they agreed a £6m fee to make the move permanent this summer, had they remained in the big league. As it was, their relegation ensured they escaped being saddled with a debt for a player they no longer had at their club.
“Watford FC is delighted to announce the signing of Turkey international midfielder Ozan Tufan from Fenerbahce, on a seasonlong loan with an option to buy,” the club said on August 19.
“The 26-year-old arrives with nearly ten years of top-flight experience in his home country as well as 63 Turkey caps to his name.
“Tufan’s career began with Bursaspor before he moved to Super Lig rivals
Fenerbahce in 2015, where he has since made 174 outings while also spending a loan spell at Alanyaspor.
“A holding midfielder with a range of passing and an eye for goal, the Hornets have beaten a host of Premier League and European clubs to Tufan’s signature.”
Watford’s relegation to the second tier meant they were not required to sign Tufan, though in a bizarre twist, had the Hornets survived, they would have been forced to spend £6m on a player they didn’t want and had sent back.
That deal was agreed under the first of Watford’s three managers in a campaign that proved an abject failure ultimately ending in relegation. Xisco Munoz started the season having guided the club to promotion from the Championship the campaign before, only to be relieved of his duties at the beginning of October having collected seven points from the opening seven games.
Leicester City’s title-winning manager Claudio Ranieri was next in through the Pozzo family’s revolving door only to last three months before veteran Roy Hodgson came in at the end of January in a bid to keep them in the top flight, a task he ultimately failed to do - it was Hodgson’s decision to terminate Tufan’s contract shortly after arriving.
Though Tufan clearly struggled to adapt to the Premier League in those early weeks, there’s clearly a very capable player at a good age keen to come and make an impact in England. Had Watford survived, the conversation may have been a different one and one which would almost have excluded City from the negotiating table owing to the figures involved.