Dick Advocaat Says No Talks Yet for Orkun Kokcu, Despite Arsenal Rumours

Dick Advocaat believes reports linking Arsenal with Feyenoord playmaker Orkun Kokcu have validity, but he said the Eredivisie club has yet to hold any talks about a potential transfer.

Advocaat told Fox Sports (h/t Matthew Cooper of the Daily Star): "It seems that what I read is true. But no one has yet come to Feyenoord (to make an offer or hold talks)."

When asked about whether Kokcu would adapt to life in England's top flight, Advocaat offered a confident assertion: "I think he fits everywhere."

Links between Arsenal and Kokcu have been prevalent lately, after MailOnline's Sami Mokbel reported the Gunners were talking to Feyenoord about a deal worth £23 million. Mokbel also noted how Arsenal technical director Edu has earmarked the 19-year-old schemer as a primary target for this summer's transfer window.

Kokcu, who has also been linked with Everton, per Lyall Thomas of Sky Sports, makes sense as a target because he would offer the vision and technique the Gunners lack in midfield. Flair and ingenuity used to be the hallmarks of the Arsenal engine room during Arsene Wenger's time in charge, but the Frenchman's successor Unai Emery took the team in another direction.

Emery led a purge of playmakers that saw Santi Cazorla, Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey, Alex Iwobi and Henrikh Mkhitaryan all move on. It's left Arsenal suddenly shorn of enough players to make a success of the possession-based game head coach Mikel Arteta prefers.

Arteta played five seasons under Wenger before joining the coaching staff of Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. He has adopted a similar philosophy to both since replacing Freddie Ljungberg in the Gunners' dugout on December 26.

Reproducing the artful passing game Wenger and Guardiola stayed faithful to hasn't been easy with elegant No. 10 Mesut Ozil lacking support. Ozil has only scored one goal and assisted another on Arteta's watch, while being without a midfield partner on a similar creative wavelength.

Ozil has shown an increased application to press from the front when out of possession, but his struggles to create more chances compound the decision to loan Mkhitaryan to AS Roma. The Armenian has been thriving, scoring six goals and providing four assists.

His touch, pace and eye for a pass would be obvious assets for the style Ozil is tasked with bringing to the Gunners. Instead, it's on the ball where Arsenal are lacking, with only Real Madrid loanee Dani Ceballos offering the competence and efficiency required.

The Spaniard stood out during Saturday's 1-0 win at home to West Ham United to continue his upturn in form under Arteta:

Adding a player like Kokcu would be a good first step toward rebuilding the Arsenal midfield into the kind of haven for forward-thinking players it used to be. The teenager has two goals and six assists to his credit so far this season, numbers offering evidence of his natural skills with the ball at his feet.

Securing Kokcu's signature would give Arteta another young star, along with 20-year-olds Joe Willock and Reiss Nelson, to develop in the middle.