Chelsea have recently deployed club officials in Turkey to cast their eye over a number of targets, including Besiktas midfielder Tolgay Arslan.
Turkish Futbol report that scout Koray Palaz joined goalkeeper coach Christophe Lollichon and loan player technical coach Eddie Newton on a scouting mission in the Super Lig with the Blues keeping an eye on the 27-year-old midfielder.
Arslan has featured for both Turkey and Germany at youth international level and came through the ranks with Dortmund before being released in the summer of 2009, going on to join Hamburg.
After five-and-a-half years on their books, Arslan joined Besiktas in January 2015 for a reported £400,000 and has become a regular in the first-team, winning back-to-back Super Lig titles.
Palaz is quoted by Turkish Futbol as saying that Chelsea came away impressed by Arslan’s performance, but the report claims that the Blues could be rivalled by Newcastle for his signature.
They were impressed with Tolgay, he is a great team player and has character.
The midfielder wasn’t the only player Chelsea scouted during their time in Turkey as they made checks on 17-year-old Altinordu goalkeeper Berke Ozer, who is also a target for Juventus and Manchester City
