Amine Harit, the 28-year-old Moroccan international midfielder, has made a move to Turkey, leaving Olympique de Marseille after falling out of favor at the French club.
His loan transfer to Istanbul Basaksehir was officially confirmed on Friday, with the Turkish club securing an option to make the deal permanent at a later date.
Harit initially arrived at Marseille in 2021 on a loan spell from German side Schalke 04, where he had previously earned the title of Bundesliga Rookie of the Year for the 2017-18 season. He spent a total of two seasons on loan with OM.
Marseille eventually made his move permanent last November for an estimated €5 million. The obligation-to-buy clause in his contract was reportedly triggered after he reached his 15th appearance for the club in the previous season.
Despite his permanent signing, Harit had not featured in a single minute for Marseille in the current campaign. He was also notably not registered by coach Roberto De Zerbi for the upcoming UEFA Champions League. Marseille is scheduled to commence their group stage matches soon, including a trip to the Santiago Bernabeu to face Real Madrid.
The French-born attacking midfielder developed his youth career at various prominent clubs, including Paris Saint-Germain, Red Star, and FC Nantes. Before his transfer to Schalke, Harit represented La Maison Jaune (FC Nantes) in their first team, making 30 appearances and scoring one goal during the 2016-17 season.
In his earlier career, Harit played a key role in the French Under-19 team`s triumph at the UEFA European Championship in 2016.
Although he had a diminished role domestically at the start of the current campaign, Harit was instrumental in Marseille`s journey to the UEFA Europa League semi-finals in the previous season, where he finished as the top assist provider.
