Ligue 1: Lille shell out $18.4 million to sign Turkish attacking midfielder Yusuf Yazici from Trabzonspor

Lille: Lille have paid a club record 16.5 million euros ($18.4 million) for Trabzonspor’s Turkey attacking midfielder Yusuf Yazici, the French outfit announced on Tuesday. [caption id=“attachment_7119631” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Yusuf Yazici. AFP[/caption] The fee for 22-year-old Yazici, who has made 14 international appearances since his debut in 2017, beats the 14 million euros the Ligue 1 side spent on Brazilian playmaker Thiago Maia in 2017. “He has great technical qualities, he has an ability to create space, a very high quality shot on goal and has a remarkable left-footed pass which will all improve our squad for the coming season,” Lille’s general manager Marc Ingla said. Portugal centre-back Edgard Ie moves in the opposite direction to the Turkish Super Lig as part of the deal for Yazici who has signed a five-year contract. He has been brought in by the team who finished second in the French top-flight and qualified for the Champions League as a replacement for Ivory Coast forward Nicolas Pepe, who has joined Arsenal for 80 millions euros and Portugese forward Rafael Leao who has left for AC Milan for 35 million euros. Lille coach Christophe Galtier has also signed US attacker Timothy Weah and Nigeria frontman Victor Osimhen ahead of the new campaign which starts by hosting Nantes on Sunday.