Turkish reports link Bruno Lage to Besiktas job

Besiktas has reportedly added former Benfica coach Bruno Lage to their shortlist of candidates to take over the team, following the departure of Sergen Yalçin, according to reports from Turkey on Monday.

Journalist Tugba Hacibayramoglu indicates that a meeting between the Turkish club's management and the Portuguese coach is scheduled for the coming days, either Wednesday or Thursday.

According to the information, the Portuguese coach, who has been without a club since leaving the Lisbon giants, is currently in England observing matches.

At Besiktas, Bruno Lage would reunite with Orkun Kokçu, the Turkish midfielder with whom he had a heated disagreement during the Club World Cup. Their fiery exchange caused a stir within the 'Encarnados' camp, though the coach later downplayed the incident.

"It wasn't a good moment, and as a leader, I must be the first to admit it. He has Turkish blood, but my blood is from Setúbal and it also boils, even if I don't always show it (...) We talked face-to-face and understood how people who had always gotten along well for a year could have such a moment. The matter was resolved within the family," he explained in the days that followed.

Later, in an interview with A BOLA, he recalled the moment: "Kokçu was one of the easiest relationships I had at Benfica. We had that situation… It was an unfortunate moment for both of us. First for him, and then for me too. The next day, after breakfast, I took the initiative, knocked on his door three times, he opened it and started laughing. The first thing he said to me was how two people who got along so well for nine months could have had that moment."