Freiburg sporting director Jochen Saier has dismissed reports that Caglar Soyuncu could be on the way to Arsenal, calling them ‘total nonsense’.

On Thursday, the chairman of Soyuncu’s former club Altinordu, Seyit Mehmet Ozkan, told the media Arsenal had asked for youth information about the player. Ozkan concluded by saying the 21-year-old is “on the way to the Premier League”.

It seems he got ahead of himself though. Saier insists that a deal is nowhere near as close as the Altinordu chairman was making out.

“He (Okzan) knows little about the overall scenario,” Saier told Bild. “This is total nonsense. Arsenal did not contact me, there is no offer.”

The most likely explanation seems to be that Arsenal are, or were, following the player. They were trying to get as much information as they could before making an offer, and asked his former club for help. Before they could make that offer, Ozkan went public with the news.

Now, who knows whether Arsenal will still try and make a move? We don’t even know for sure they were planning one in the first place.

There probably is some interest, but it’s hard to tell how advanced it is from these contradictory accounts.

Soyuncu is good on the ball and strong in the air. He also makes lots of blocks, although he can commit fouls a bit too often. He’s a a full Turkey international with 13 caps to his name, his latest coming as a starter for his country against Morocco in the recent international friendlies.

We’ll see if this story progresses as we move into the transfer window.