26 years old 

©TM/IMAGO

French midfielder Mattéo Guendouzi has had an unusual career to date. It’s hard to believe that he is still only 26 years of age. He signed for Arsenal as a teenager in a €8 million deal from Lorient in 2018 when Unai Emery was the Gunners boss. But two years later fell out with new manager Mikel Arteta and was soon deemed surplus to requirements. Guendouzi enjoyed somewhat of a revival in homeland France with Marseille and in Italy with Lazio and was recalled to Didier Deschamps’ France squad in 2024 after a two year absence. Now it looks like he is heading to Istanbul.

According to reports, a verbal agreement is in place for a €29m package with add-ons included that would see Guendouzi head to Turkish giants Fenerbahce. Paperwork is thought to be in the process of being drafted between Lazio and Fener in order to give final green light this week, with Guendouzi himself already agreeing terms. It would be a deal that would not only be one of the biggest of this January window, but one of the biggest in Fener history, and make Guendouzi one of the most valuable players to ever sign for the club.

The most valuable players to sign for Fenerbahce

The most valuable player to ever sign for Fenerbahce was in fact striker Jhon Durán – the Colombian signed on loan from the Saudi Pro League last summer and at the time had a market value of €35m. That has since dropped to €32m. Guendouzi now ranks second on the list with his current €28m valuation. There are then three players who had a €22m market value when they signed for Fenerbahce in Edson Álvarez, Youssef En-Nesyri and Kerem Aktürkoğlu – all three of which still currently play for the club.