Besiktas central defender Ersan Gulum is nearing a switch to Malaga after the Turkish club lowered their demands for the player.
The Turks were originally asking €2m for the 26-year-old but are now understood to be willing to accept around the €1m mark.
Reports in Spain say negotiations are now at an advanced stage for the Australia-born player, who was under Malaga boss Bernd Schuster during his time in charge at Besiktas.
The German gave Gulum his debut in the Turkish League after rescuing him from the Second Division and sees him as a priority for his new-look squad, given he can play both in central defence and at left-back.
Schuster’s squad currently consists of 20 professionals, yet although he is in favour of not having more than 23 players he knows that reinforcements still need to be brought in if the Costa del Sol outfit is to make an impact in the 2013-14 campaign.
