Lille break club record for Turkey's Yazici
Lille - Lille have paid a club-record €16.5 million ($18.4 million) for Trabzonspor's Turkey attacking midfielder Yusuf Yazici, the French outfit announced on Tuesday.
The fee for 22-year-old Yazici, who has made 14 international appearances since his debut in 2017, beats the €14 million the Ligue 1 side spent on Brazilian playmaker Thiago Maia in 2017.
"He has great technical qualities, he has an ability to create space, a very high quality shot on goal and has a remarkable left-footed pass which will all improve our squad for the coming season," Lille's general manager Marc Ingla said.
Portugal centre-back Edgard Ie moves in the opposite direction to the Turkish Super Lig as part of the deal for Yazici, who has signed a five-year contract.
He has been brought in by the team who finished second in the French top-flight and qualified for the Champions League as a replacement for Ivory Coast forward Nicolas Pepe, who has joined Arsenal for €80 millions, and Portuguese forward Rafael Leao, who has left for AC Milan for €35 million.
Lille coach Christophe Galtier has also signed U.S. attacker Timothy Weah and Nigeria frontman Victor Osimhen ahead of the new campaign which starts by hosting Nantes on Sunday.