Muhammed Kerem Aktürkoğlu has been the surprise start of the show for Turkey over the international break, and he was a player AC Milan thought about signing during the summer.
Calciomercato.com write how Aktürkoğlu has taken centre stage for Turkey, all after amassing two goals and three assists in six games with Galatasaray before he moved to Benfica towards the end of the summer window.
At the Gürsel Aksel Stadium in Izmir, the eyes of fans were drawn to the 25-year-old winger as he scored a brilliant hat-trick, capping an immense joy a week after a turning point in his career following a €12m switch to the Portuguese side.
It is a significant investment but for a consistent player who has always hit double figures for goals in the last three seasons with Galatasaray aside from only the first season, the one in which he nevertheless found slightly less playing time.
In Lisbon he has a difficult task which is to replace the production of key departures like Rafa Silva (who moved to Besiktas when his contract expired) and David Neres, sold by Benfica to Napoli for just under €30m.
In the two previous summers (2022 and 2023) and also last January there had been the possibility of seeing Aktürkoğlu in Italy, in Serie A. Two clubs in particular held talks: Fiorentina who wanted a left winger for the then-coach Vincenzo Italiano, and Milan who wanted a deputy to Rafael Leao.
For the two clubs, a deal worth around €15m was possible, a little more than what Aktürkoğlu cost Benfica just a few days ago, but neither Fiorentina nor Milan went any further. The Rossoneri for their part opted to wait until the summer and sign Noah Okafor for a similar figure.