Besiktas close in on Chamakh

Besiktas have targeted Arsenal striker Marouane Chamakh as a potential replacement for Hugo Almeida or Ricardo Quaresma.

Club board member Ahmed Nur Cebi outlined the situation regarding Almeida and Quaresma, as well as identifying Chamakh, plus Mevlut Erding of Rennes, as potential arrivals.

Chamakh joined the Gunners in 2008 from Bordeaux but has found first-team opportunities difficult to come by after his initial promising form at the Emirates Stadium fading.

Cebi confirmed the club’s interest in the Moroccan but suggested that he may have expectations of joining a bigger club.

“Chamakh, I’d love but we’re different from his expectations,” he said.

Cebi went on to reveal that Besiktas’ interest in Gokhan Unal, of Fenerbahce, and Necati Ates, of Galatasaray, had ended but said the club had been in contact with Erding.

“Necati and Gokhan are not the names on the agenda at the moment,” he said.

“Mevlut Erding has been spoken to, but I do not know the status of it.

“We remain in favour of Almeida, but he wants to go and he’s hard to keep. Quaresma is a difficult issue. The fans want him in the team but he has troubles, continuous issues keep coming up.”