Leeds United are reportedly interested in Fenerbahce striker Mergim Berisha. According to Turkish outlet Yeni Safak, the Whites are in 'constant talks' with Fenerbahce over signing the forward.
The Turkish giants reportedly want £4.2 million for the 24-year-old - who worked with Jesse Marsch at Red Bull Salzburg - and Leeds are yet to meet their demands. Leeds reportedly value the 24-year-old at £1.75million.
Fenerbache are said to be desperate to offload as they have too many foreign players on their books. Super Lig sides can only register up to 14 non-Turkish players and Fenerbahce have signed nine foreign nationals this summer.
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The Whites are on the hunt for a striker to provide competition for Patrick Bamford. Berisha is the latest name to be linked, amid reported interest in the likes of Arnaud Kalimuendo, Ben Brereton Diaz, Che Adams and Martin Terrier.
With Leeds linked with the player, here is everything you need to know about Mergim Berisha.
Who is Mergim Berisha?
Berisha is a 24-year-old striker who plays for Fenerbache. The German forward came through at Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg, where he was coached by Marsch between between 2019 and 2021.
The striker has enjoyed loan spells with FC Liefering, LASK, FC Magdeburg and SCR Altach. He signed for Fenerbache permanently last summer.
What has Mergim Berisha done so far?
Berisha's most prolific spell of his career came at RB Salzburg. The striker scored 22 goals and claimed 13 assists in 56 games for the club.
He bagged 14 league goals during the 2020/21 campaign, but it was in the Champions League where Berisha made a name for himself. He scored in defeats to Bayern Munich - one a 6-2 defeat and the other a 3-1 loss, while he also assisted two goals in Salzburg's 3-2 defeat to Atletico Madrid.
Their only win of the group stage came against Lokomotiv Moscow - and Berisha scored twice in the 3-1 victory. Salzburg were knocked out of the competition at the group stage, but he ended with four goals and two assists across six games.
Berisha won four league titles with Salzburg during his time in Austria, also winning three Austrian cups.
At Fenerbache, Berisha has scored seven goals in 31 appearances, playing just 998 minutes last season.
The striker was capped 13 times by Germany Under-21s, scoring one goal. He played every game as Germany won the Under-21 European Championship last summer, where he featured alongside the likes of Bayer Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz. Berisha knows how to win silverware at both club and international level.
What type of player is Mergim Berisha?
During his time at Salzburg, Berisha mostly played as a striker, but he also sometimes operated as an advanced midfielder in Marsch's 4-2-2-2 system. He has been known to play in positions just behind the strikers.
He's not particularly quick, but standing at 6'1", possesses good hold up play. Berisha also isn't a dangerous dribbler. He does however boast clever movement and his ability to drop into space and pick out a pass to a team-mate making a forward run is the reason why he often plays in a deeper position.
Berisha hasn't been prolific during his time in Turkey, but his spell in Austria with Salzburg proved fruitful. A lack of starts at Fenerbache certainly hasn't helped Berisha rediscover his goalscoring rhythm. Marsch is the one coach who has really got the best out of the German so far in his career, and the American trusted him immensely during his time at Salzburg.
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