Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea have all sent scouts to Istanbul to keep an eye on Galatasaray midfielder Aleksey Batrakov, according to a report from TeamTalk on Wednesday November 4, 2026.

Scouts from the three Premier League clubs all travelled to watch Galatasaray’s latest game as they look to get a closer look at the Russian international who is establishing himself as one of Europe’s most exciting prospects.

While United and Chelsea have previously scouted the 21-year-old, Arsenal have now increased their interest in the Russian. This suggests that he will be in hot demand in the next few transfer windows.

Batrakov moved to Galatasaray from Lokomotiv Moscow over the summer and has made quite the impression since his arrival in Turkey. He has quickly become one of the standout attacking midfielders in the Super Lig.

The Russian has already scored five goals and provided three assists in nine starts.While he is primarily an attacking midfielder, and likes to play as a number ten behind the striker, he can also play in more advanced roles. This makes him an appealing prospect for clubs.

One senior Premier League scouting source described him as a "special talent" and he certainly backed up these claims with a stunning performance against Stuttgart on Tuesday.He scored both goals in the 2-0 win.

Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal are not the only clubs keeping a close eye on the youngster. Liverpool have also been linked with the 21-year-old while Manchester City and Tottenham are also watching.

Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig and Paris Saint-Germain are also keeping a close eye on the situation in Europe.

British clubs had struggled to pursue the Russian in the past as there were restrictions in place after Russia invaded Ukraine which meant they could not directly sign players from Russian teams. However, his move to Galatasaray has solved this issue.

A January exit seems unlikely though as when he moved to the Turkish champions he negotiated a release clause worth around £50million. This means that he could leave in 2027.

Galatasaray are looking to offer him better financial terms and remove the release clause to protect their investment and give themselves an edge in negotiations.