According to Fotomac, Fenerbahce have rejected an offer of €8m from Crystal Palace for their Turkish midfielder Ozan Tufan.

What's the word?

Palace submitted a bid believed to be worth an initial €8m - which they feel is reasonable considering the current economic climate - on Thursday after some deliberation over a bid.

However, the Turkish club value the 25-year-old at €12m (£10m), having signed him from his boyhood club Bursaspor in 2015.

But the report adds Palace may be prepared to increase their offer substantially, although Fenerbache are also expected to hike their price for the 55-cap Turkey international, who joined the club at the age of 19.

Significant upgrade in the midfield

Hodgson has got the Eagles well above the Premier League relegation battle and is now looking for January additions to keep them there.

Steve Parish has already signed Jean-Philippe Mateta on an initial 18-month loan deal with an option to buy from Bundesliga club Mainz to that effect and Tufan could follow suit if the club chairman can be persuaded to dip into his pockets.

The Eagles manager was interested in Tufan almost three years ago, but he turned his attentions elsewhere but if Palace want to prise him away from the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, they will have to match Fenerbahce's asking price.

While Luka Milivojevic has established himself as a regular starter in the Premier League under Hodgson, the Palace boss has struggled to settle on his preferred midfield pairing.

Despite impressing at times for Hodgson's side this season so far, Jairo Riedewald has been unable to nail down a starting berth in the squad, whilst James McArthur and James McCarthy are the other two men battling to bag the same spot, although there are questions over both.

It's fair to say that Tufan - who has been heavily linked with a move to Selhurst Park in the past - would be a significant upgrade in the midfield. Now closing in on seven years at Fenerbahce, he has made 152 appearances for the club, scoring 19 goals and setting up a further 19 assists for his teammates.

Only McArthur (3.1) and McCarthy (1.8) currently average more tackles per game compared to Tufan's exploits this season, with the Turk bettering both Milivojevic and Riedewald, per WhoScored. He currently averages more interceptions per game too, which suggests that he reads the game well and can break up attacks.

He also tops the charts in comparison to the Palace midfielders for the most shots (1.5), key passes (1.1) and dribbles (0.9) per game, which shows that his all-round game is solid.

Tufan, therefore, could be a valuable asset for the Eagles but it remains to be seen how much Parish will be willing to spend to finally land Palace's long-term target.

AND in other news, Crystal Palace sign Mainz striker Jean-Philippe Mateta; spells bad news for Michy Batshuayi...