Former Adana Demirspor vice president Metin Korkmaz has confirmed that he turned down an offer from Arsenal for the signing of Deniz Eren Donmezer.
16-year-old goalkeeper Deniz Donmezer is impressing with Adana Demirspor in the Turkish Super Lig, already making his debut senior appearances for the club despite his age.
Donmezer has made 12 first-team starts in 2024/25, having also played for Adana Demirspor once last season.
Those appearances have caught the attention of plenty of clubs around Turkey and across Europe, and former Adana Demirspor vice president Metin Korkmaz reveals that they even received a formal offer from Arsenal.
“We received many official offers from abroad and within the country for Deniz,” Korkmaz confirmed. “He is performing very exceptionally. All the big clubs in the Super League are interested in his transfer.
“Arsenal sent an official offer. They offered 3 million euros. According to this offer, they will pay the money, but Deniz will play for us on loan for a year and a half. Then he will join Arsenal.
“Fenerbahçe offered 3 million Euros for Maestro and Deniz. They also said, ‘Deniz should play for you on loan for 1.5 years and then come to us.’
“Unfortunately, we had to reject both clubs’ offers. We would never give Deniz for the offered figures.”
As Korkmaz highlights, Arsenal would have had to loan Donmezer back to his current club for the time being, with the player not old enough to make the transfer yet.
But it would also just make sporting sense to allow the player to continue to play games and develop in senior football before joining Arsenal at 18.
Unfortunately, the move didn’t work out, and it remains to be seen whether the Gunners will pursue the transfer again in the future.