Milan could have signed Turkey’s hat-trick hero for €15m – the background

Muhammed Kerem Aktürkoğlu has been the surprise start of the show for Turkey over the international break, and he was a player AC Milan thought about signing during the summer.

Calciomercato.com write how Aktürkoğlu has taken centre stage for Turkey, all after amassing two goals and three assists in six games with Galatasaray before he moved to Benfica towards the end of the summer window.

At the Gürsel Aksel Stadium in Izmir, the eyes of fans were drawn to the 25-year-old winger as he scored a brilliant hat-trick, capping an immense joy a week after a turning point in his career following a €12m switch to the Portuguese side.

It is a significant investment but for a consistent player who has always hit double figures for goals in the last three seasons with Galatasaray aside from only the first season, the one in which he nevertheless found slightly less playing time.

In Lisbon he has a difficult task which is to replace the production of key departures like Rafa Silva (who moved to Besiktas when his contract expired) and David Neres, sold by Benfica to Napoli for just under €30m.