BESIKTAS could offer Liverpool misfit Mario Balotelli a route out of Anfield after their president expressed a desire to sign the Italy international.
Fikret Orman believes the 25-year-old, who did not travel with Jurgen Klopp and his squad for their tour of the United States after being deemed surplus to requirements, could be a good fit for the Istanbul-based club.
He admits, however, had it not been for Balotelli's reputation for being difficult they would not stand a chance of attracting him.
"Mario Balotelli is the type of footballer that our fans can associate themselves with," he told Turkish magazine Fanatik. "I'm pretty sure he would attract great attention.
"To be fair, if he wasn't deemed as a trouble-maker, he wouldn't be rumoured to be joining us.
"But we can show some effort and create solutions for Balotelli's infamous troubles. I think he can change with the attention and care he'll receive in Turkey.
"In short, we want Mario Balotelli and he wants us too."
Bournemouth, meanwhile, have announced the signing of Liverpool full-back Brad Smith on a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee.
The 22-year-old started his career at the Liverpool Academy before signing his first professional contract with the club in 2013, making five appearances.
He said: "It's a great stadium here and it's a great opportunity for me to come and play in front of the fans. Hopefully I'll do well, learn a lot and progress in my career."
Elsewhere, Marko Arnautovic has signed a new four-year deal with Stoke.
The Austria international had been linked with a move to Everton, having been big hit at the Bet365 Stadium since his arrival from Werder Bremen in 2013 and had one year left on his previous contract.
Stoke's hopes of holding on to one of their prized assets might have been helped by his quiet showing at Euro 2016, where Austria bowed out in the group stage.
But the 27-year-old hinted that he had options to debate before committing himself to the club on a long-term basis.
Writing on his Instagram page, alongside a picture of his contract signing, Arnautovic said: "I am proud and thrilled to finally let you know I am going to remain a Potter and will continue playing with my team and for my fantastic fans.
"I suppose sometimes it takes a bit longer to make the right decision and this one comes from my heart. My family and I could not be happier. Can't wait for the season to begin."
Stoke chief executive Tony Scholes added: "We are delighted that Marko has decided to commit his long-term future to the club.
"It has been a lengthy process but these things often are. Marko is settled in England and very happy at Stoke City which is why he has taken the decision to re-sign for a further four years. It's a major boost to us as we prepare for the new season."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here