According to a report by Hessenschau in Germany, Derby County target Serdar Dursun has an offer on the table from impending Turkish champions Besiktas.
The Darmstadt striker is out of contract at the end of the season.
Derby reportedly wanted Dursun last summer as a replacement for Chris Martin, with Bild claiming the Rams offered £900,000 to sign him from the German club.
Darmstadt, however, rejected the offer with Derby unwilling to go higher.
The Athletic report that Derby didn’t think they needed to jump in for Dursun, and could wait until January to sign him on the cheap inside the final months of his contract.
But that decision has since backfired on the east Midlands club.
Derby struggled at the beginning of the season without a recognised senior striker, and Phillip Cocu soon lost his job following a run of just one win in the opening 11 games.
Dursun, meanwhile, has hit a whopping 21 goals in 30 Bundesliga II games this season.
It’s possible Cocu would still be Derby boss had the Rams signed Dursun, considering the impact he’s had at Darmstadt and the Rams’ woes in-front of goal this season.
Instead, the Rams flirted dangerously with relegation to League One and finished the season with one win in their last 15 games and as the lowest scorers in the Championship.
Dursun’s excellent form hasn’t gone unnoticed. Hessenschau claim Schalke, Hamburg and Besiktas are all in for him, with the latter set to play Champions League football next term.
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