Former chairman of Turkish side Galatasaray Dursun Özbek has disclosed that they came close to signing Ghana midfielder Kwadwo Asamoah during his time at the club.

The versatile Ghana international was reportedly close to joining the Turkish giant's last summer, but the deal later broke down after Juventus failed to find an adequate replacement.

However, Galatasaray were handed a year-long ban from European football after breaking Financial Fair Play regulations in 2016, and Özbek, who lost the club’s presidential election to Mustafa Cengiz, has revealed that complications of that can cost them in the transfer of the Juventus man.

The 21-time Turkish champions were forced to sell key players in Wesley Sneijder and Badou Ndiaye to cut cost.

“Did I sell Ndiaye? Yes. I did so after I had only brought him six months ago. He was the most secure transfer we had, our first transfer.

“We were going to sign a deal with Kwadwo Asamoah for next season, and Asamoah was at the top of our transfer list, but that could not happen,” he said.

The 29-year-old is set to sign a three year deal with Italian side Inter Milan, after opting against renewing his contract with Juventus.

He spent six years at the Turin side, winning 6 Serie A titles and 4 Coppa Italia crowns