David Ospina Poised for Fenerbahce Switch After Gunners Complete Signing of Leverkusen's Berno Leno
Arsenal’s recent capture of Bernd Leno from Bayer Leverkusen has plunged the futures of Petr Cech and David Ospina as the current goalkeeping incumbents at the Emirates Stadium into real doubt.
The £19.3m capture of the German shot stopper was officially confirmed by the Gunners on Tuesday, and it now remains to be seen what knock-on effect Leno’s high-profile arrival will mean for Cech and Ospina, with the 26-year-old surely set to assume first-choice status.
A report from Turkish outlet Fanatik claims that one permutation of Leno’s arrival at the Emirates could be to hasten the likely departure of Ospina to Turkey, with Fenerbahce said to be waiting in the wings to secure the Colombian’s services.
The 29-year-old has largely served as an understudy since arriving in north London from Nice in 2014, and played primarily as Arsenal’s cup ‘keeper behind regular number one Petr Cech under Arsene Wenger last season.
Leno’s arrival appears certain to push Ospina further down the pecking order under Unai Emery, who it is said does not have a place for the Colombian in his plans ahead of the Spanish tactician’s debut season as the Gunners’ new head coach.
It is said that the developments have given hope to Damien Comolli, Fenerbahce’s recently appointed director of football, that a deal can be struck with Arsenal to lure Ospina to Istanbul.
Signing a new goalkeeper is apparently a priority for the Super Lig club, with PSG’s Kevin Trapp also among the club’s targets. The arrival of Leno at Arsenal, however, seems to make Ospina a more viable option for the Turkish side.
Any developments in such a move for Ospina could, however, be delayed by the goalkeeper’s involvement at the World Cup.
The Arsenal star is on duty in Russia with Colombia, playing in their shock 2-1 defeat to Japan in the South American side’s opening match of the tournament.
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It is said, however, that Ospina has been offered to Fenerbahce through third-party agents and that the player himself has given the green light to negotiate terms with the Turkish giants, should Comolli reach an agreement with Arsenal.
