Algeria international and Leicester City winger Rachid Ghezzal has signed a permanent contract with Turkish Super Lig side Besiktas.
The permanent signing of the fleet-footed forward was announced on Thursday for an undisclosed fee, thus ending his three-year stay with the Premier League side.
Besiktas Sign Rachid Ghezzal on Permanent Deal
Leicester City Confirm Departure of Rachid Ghezzal
“Leicester City can confirm that winger Rachid Ghezzal has signed a permanent deal with Turkish Super Lig side Besiktas, subject to international clearance,” read a statement from the club website.
The winger teamed up with the Foxes in the summer of 2018 as a direct replacement for his compatriot Riyad Mahrez, who left the club for Manchester City.
Ghezzal struggled to make much of an impact at King Power Stadium, featuring in only 23 appearances across all competitions.
In an effort to garner more experience and enjoy more playing time, he left on loan to Serie A side Fiorentina in September 2019.
Ghezzal Makes Loan Signing Permanent
He scored five goals during his time with the club before departing the side at the end of the season for another loan spell with Besiktas.
Ghezzal featured regularly for the Turkish top-flight side, making more than 31 appearances across all competitions and scoring five league goals.
The performances were convincing enough to earn him a permanent deal and will hope to continue his development at Vodafone Park.
Ghezzal started his career at Lyon youth team in 2004 before his promotion to the senior team and made more than 87 league appearances for the club.
He also featured for Monaco in the Ligue 1 before he was snapped up by Leicester City following his scintillating form for the French side.
Besiktas finished as champions last season and will hope the permanent signing of Ghezzal will help them clinch the title for the second consecutive time at the end of the 2021-22 campaign.
On the international scene, Ghezzal has previously represented France U20 side before switching his allegiance to Algeria.
The winger made his debut for the Desert Foxes in 2015 and has 19 caps for the North African country. He, however, missed the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt, where Algeria won the title for the second time in her history.
The forward will be expected to deliver fine performances for Besiktas to boost his chances of featuring at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.
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