Why Newcastle United Over Everton Would Be A Better Destination For Oguzhan Ozyakup
Turkish international Oguzhan Ozyakup is well known by the Besiktas fans, where he has been plying his trade for the last six years after his transfer from Arsenal in 2012. He has had two standout seasons for the Kara Kartallar.
In the 2015/16 season, he got 9 goals and 7 assists, and then in the 2016/17 season he notched up 5 goals and 7 assists in the league, while also doing well for them in the Champions League and the Europa League in both of these seasons respectively.
He has been a fan favourite at the Vodafone Park because of his direct play. He gets the ball and drives at the opposition. He has quick feet, is a strong dribbler and also picks out an excellent pass, threading the ball through the eye of a needle to provide a goal. He is the sort of player that every team needs.
However, he stagnated a little in his most recent season at Besiktas, scoring no goals and getting only three assists.
These kind of players are like gold dust. They have the ability to win the match on their day and therefore, it is no surprise that his desire to move away has alerted two Premier League clubs, Newcastle and Everton. However, which club should he join?
If we assume that both clubs would offer him the same amount of money to join them, then the biggest motivation for him to pick one over the other would be the amount of playing time that he would accrue at each of the clubs.
Everton have an abundance of midfielders in his position; Sigurdsson, Davies, Rooney, Vlasic and even Klassen – all of who would be competing with him for a starting position. Newcastle, on the other hand, only have one player in his position – Ayoze Perez. So it is likely that Ozyakup would get more playing time if he moved to Tyneside.
If money is the deciding factor, then the midfielder should definitely go to Everton. The wage cap at Newcastle, although loosened a little recently due to Benitez, is still pretty restrictive, whereas Everton seem to have money galore at the moment. So if he wants a big pay-cheque, then he should definitely join the Toffees.
The final factor for me comes down to the managers of the two clubs. Everton are currently in quite an unstable place when it comes to managers, with no one really knowing whether Allardyce will stay or go at the end of the season. Newcastle, on the other hand, know exactly who their man will be – Champions League winner Rafa Benitez.
If Ozyakup wants to work under a manager who would show him the respect he deserves and mould him into an even better player than he is now, then Newcastle United is the club he should move to.