Eintracht Frankfurt beat Chelsea and Arsenal to signing of Turkish striker Akman

Stefan Bienkowski

• Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
• 2 min read

Eintracht Frankfurt have beaten the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal to the signing of highly-rated Bursaspor striker Ali Akman. 

The 18-year-old goalscorer had entered the final six months of his contract with the Turkish second-tier side and amidst interest from across Europe, Akman has agreed to join the Bundesliga side this summer on a four-year contract. 

According to the Daily Mail, Premier League giants Chelsea and Arsenal were planning on making an approach for the striker this month after Red Bull Salzburg and Galatasaray failed in their attempts to sign him. 

However, he’s now agreed to make the move to Germany where he’ll join up with Adi Hutter’s side in the summer. 

“In Ali Akman, we’ve acquired the services of one of Turkish football’s biggest talents,” said Eintracht boss Fredi Bobic. 

“He’s a player we’re hoping to develop and improve over the next few years. Ali will be given the time and support he needs here. 

“We’re happy to have gained a young, highly sought-after player of such ability.”

Who is Ali Akman? 

At the tender age of 18 and having played his entire career to date in the second tier of Turkish football, it’s fair to say that very little is known about the Bursaspor striker. 

However, it is clear that Akman is a young player on the rise. Despite his young age, the striker has already played 42 games for the Bursa side after making his debut shortly after his 17th birthday. 

Akman’s debut season didn’t exactly go to plan, with just four goals in 25 appearances for the club, he did pick up plenty of experience and seemed to develop very quickly into a dependable senior player for the club. 

In this current campaign – only the second full league season of his career – Akman has hit the ground running with nine goals and four assists in just 17 appearances for Bursaspor.

Not bad when you consider that not only is this the first time the young striker has been tasked with being a regular starter for the club, but is also leading the line for a distinctly mid-table side that often struggle to dominate or indeed score against bigger and better teams. 

In just 18 months Akman has quickly established himself as a first-team player at Bursaspor and unquestionably a player with immense talent. And as such, it makes sense that so many big clubs from around Europe are fighting for his signature.