I know I'm always more negative about Tufan than most people so this will probably attract criticism but I do wonder whether LR will be happy to let him go if he can get a reasonable fee. He's an awkward player to fit in. Not one of our best CMs, not our best #10 (and we're apparently looking at bringing in another one), and whilst he's a very good finisher you'd obviously want a natural striker like Oscar or Tetteh up there given the option. Presumably he'll be one of our highest earners and I think he's unlikely to get enough regular starts to justify that.
I think lessons should be learned from Honeyman going last summer. Honeyman would’ve had plenty of minutes this season for us. Traoré might be ahead of Tufan for the #10 spot but that doesn’t mean Tufan going is ideal. Traoré could be played as a playmaking winger with Tufan behind a striker. There’s also injuries to consider. I’d keep him purely because he adds goals from midfield and we look much better when he starts.
As far as Tufan goes I think the money would have to be right for the club for him to move back to Turkye. He seems to be enjoying his football again, he is clearly loved by the supporters, and he is looking more like the player we expected to see when he came. Yes, if we got a good offer for him he might go but I cannot see him going otherwise.
I don’t think we’ll see him leave unless it’s for good money and there aren’t many clubs that will pay that in Turkey. The ones that would pay it wouldn’t have him as a first team player.
Honeyman was our best midfielder at the time so that's a bit different. You can try to think of a situation that squeezes Tufan in by moving other players around but that's not realistically how we're going to pick our team. If it's true that we're looking for another #10 because of Traore's historic injury record, then that suggests Tufan isn't being seriously considered for that position. Traore can theoretically play out wide but I don't know why you'd want to do that as opposed to having him where he looks good and having a proper winger on the wing. I think there are question marks over where a few high-profile players will fit in to be honest but Tufan is probably top of that list.
I actually thought Tufan looked decent in the #6 role in the few games he played there for us. I’d still like to see us sign someone like Bielik or Whiteman for that spot but Tufan could be used there. Tufan’s been played as a centre mid, attacking mid, defensive mid, on the right and up front as a false 9 this season without complaint as far as I know. I had my reservations about his fitness and work ethic but he proved me wrong. He’s well-liked here, a quality utility player and I for one would be sad to see him leave us. He’s also been one of the few new signings who has been consistently available for selection despite the horror injury crisis we’ve had. He’s also one of the most technically-gifted players in the squad after Seri and Traoré.
For me Tufan is perfect for next season. He might not get in above everyone when we are at full strength but key games will be coming thick and fast next year and the fact he’s played 4 positions at a decent level last season shows how valuable he could be. He’s also a great option to bring off the bench if not starting and he’s someone who can get the crowd going. I’d be disappointed if he left.
I agree about him looking good when he played centre mid, but I think he only played there under Arveladze, not sure Rosenior trusts him to play that deep. Also agree about his availability, that is important and Rosenior clearly has that in mind this summer, so it may well stand Ozan in good stead. But on the other hand if he's 5th or even 6th choice at CM, 3rd choice at #10 and 4th choice as an emergency striker, then he won't be playing many games and in fact it'd even be hard to find room in the 25-man squad for a player of that standing. The other thing that could change all of this of course, is if we sell any other high-profile players. Rosenior has talked about wanting a small squad but if we sign the rumoured 5/6 players then we could have 28 senior players so perhaps we should be expecting 5 or 6 more to go out too?
I'd keep Tufan because when we reach the playoff final and it goes to penalties. We can rely on him to score one of them
Bristol offered him a new deal but he knocked it back to go down the Bosman route, I suspect his agents offered him to us and many other EFL championship clubs.