West Brom, Trabzonspor saga set to conclude after seven-figure agreement reached | OneFootball

Okay Yokuslu's exit from The Hawthorns is imminent

West Bromwich Albion midfielder Okay Yokuslu is expected to make an imminent return to his former club Trabzonspor.

That's according to fresh updates from Yağız Sabuncuoğlu and Yunus Emre Cel on Monday night, with the first of those revealing that the two clubs have finally reached an agreement in this long-standing transfer saga, whilst Yokuslu is set to make a return to the Turkish outfit on Tuesday.

Albion are preparing for a fourth consecutive season in the Championship after missing out on promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs last time out, losing to eventual Wembley winners Southampton in the semi-finals.

Since the conclusion of the second leg on May 17th, there has been a high amount of player turnover which Carlos Corberan has overseen, with a number of experienced players departing The Hawthorns following the conclusion of their contracts or loan spells, whilst four new signings have come through the door in pre-season.

However, it has been clear how influential Yokuslu is to the Spaniard's plans, which in some ways is why the transfer saga involving the holding midfielder has taken this long to eventually reach its imminent conclusion.

Trabzonspor set to conclude Okay Yokuslu transfer after breakthrough reached

Yokuslu's former club have expressed a long-standing interest in his services, with initial reports hinting at a potential return to the side competing in next season's UEFA Europa League dating back to the previous transfer window, before re-kindling such desires in late June amid fellow links to the likes of Besiktas and Albion's Championship rivals, Hull City.

It looked as if Yokuslu was set to move to Besiktas at one stage before a deal fell through which allowed their Süper Lig rivals to intensify their own swoop for the 30-year-old.

Reports then emerged stating that Trabzonspor were set to conclude a deal for his signature last week, before Corberan put the transfer on ice, assessing West Brom's stance on the matter before taking negotiations any further.

However, Monday's update via the aforementioned Yağız Sabuncuoğlu states that a breakthrough has finally been reached, and the two clubs have agreed a fee in the region of €1.6m, with Yunus Emre Cel revealing that the plan is for Yokuslu to return to his homeland on Tuesday.

Despite the 43-time international - who made three substitute cameos at the recent UEFA Euro 2024 tournament - being a popular figure with Baggies supporters and Corberan for his ability to break up the play in the centre of the park, as well as progress the ball into attacking areas, his departure perhaps should be viewed as a reasonable deal for all parties.

After impressing on loan back in West Brom's most recent top flight campaign, Yokuslu was brought back to B71 under the management of Steve Bruce two seasons ago on a free transfer, signing a three-year contract in the process.

Therefore, whilst a €1.6m fee isn't the largest, when taking into consideration the free transfer move back in 2022 and the fact the midfielder has one year left on his contract, this summer was the best opportunity the Baggies had of making a substantial profit, or risk losing Yokuslu for nothing on a pre-contract agreement or when his deal was set to expire next summer.

It seems as if Albion have also planned for such circumstances to unfold, having recently completed a loan deal for former Middlesbrough man Paddy McNair, with the versatile Northern Irishman capable of filling such a void in his short-term loan spell which runs up to December, as well as the signing of Ousmane Diakite last month.