Galatasaray and Juventus will square off in the return leg of the UEFA Champions League playoffs later this week, but they might also meet at the negotiating table in the summer to discuss Teun Koopmeiners, who’s in the Turkish team’s radar, La Gazzetta dello Sport relays.
The Dutchman had his best performance since moving to Turin in the first match, scoring a brace. He could be a fallback target in case Hakan Calhanoglu stays at Inter, which is the most likely outcome for now.
Galatasaray could offer Juventus one last escape route to recoup a good chunk of the investment they made to lure Koopmeiners from Atalanta. They paid nearly €60M, plus bonuses and a substantial salary, after a never-ending saga.
While the 27-year-old has been more utilized and fared a little better under Luciano Spalletti, he still hasn’t lived up to the massive expectations and investment. He has been fielded in several roles, including center-back, to give him minutes. However, his lone goal contributions came in the last continental fixture. He’s a backup if all the starters are available.
It’s a situation to monitor since he was acquired by a different management and coach. The present ones aren’t particularly committed to him and would surely evaluate proper bids. He’s occasionally been more convincing than last season but is still far from his glory days at Atalanta. On the other hand, they might be stuck with him for a couple more years, given the sums of his previous transfer. Even with the amortization kicking in, they’ll need about €40M not to take a loss. It’s hard to imagine any team likes him that much.
