Leicester City have made SC Freiburg defender Çağlar Söyüncü their second deadline day acquisition.
The 2016 Premier League champions have secured the Turkish centre-back to a five-year deal, with him officially joining for an undisclosed fee believed to be around £19m, subject to a work permit.
The highly-rated 22-year-old follows fellow central defender Filip Benković to the East Midlands who arrived from Croatian outfit Dinamo Zagreb for approximately £13m. The duo will compete with the Wes Morgan, Jonny Evans, Yohan Benalouane and Harry Maguire.
Young talent
Söyüncü began his professional career in his homeland with Altınordu F.K. before a switch to newly-promoted Bundesliga outfit SC Freiburg back in 2016. In his time in Germany, he has made 55 appearances for the club and was a key member of the squad that managed to finish seventh in the league during the 2016/17 campaign.
Despite only playing in the Bundesliga for just over two years, Söyüncü has become well-known for his ability on the ball as well as his aerial prowess.
The 16-time capped Turkish defender was reported to have previously been a target for Arsenal earlier in the summer window. However, Claude Puel’s Foxes have swooped to secure his sought-after signature.
Work permit issues
Söyüncü only needs to gain a work permit to rubber stamp his move to the King Power Stadium. The Foxes will avoid a similar situation to the fate suffered by midfielder Adrien Silva whose move was not official until January. The Turkish defender's deal sheet was submitted on time.
He will become Leicester’s seventh arrival of the summer following the signings of Evans, Benković, James Maddison, Ricardo Pereira, Danny Ward and Rachid Ghezzal. It completes an excellent summer window for Claude Puel, who despite losing Riyad Mahrez to Manchester City, kept Harry Maguire at the club despite Manchester United's reported interest.