Robin van Persie will follow former team-mate Nani to Fenerbahce... so why are Premier League stars deciding to go in search of Turkish delight?

• Fenerbahce look set to sign Manchester United striker Robin van Persie
• Van Persie will join former Red Devils team-mate Nani at the Turkish outfit
• Rafael could follow Lukas Podolski to Super Lig champions Galatasaray 
• Former Barcelona and Chelsea star Samuel Eto'o has also moved to Turkey
• Turkish FA (TFF) have scrapped limit of six foreign players in each team

By Matt Barlow for MailOnline

Published: 06:22 EST, 10 July 2015 | Updated: 07:33 EST, 10 July 2015

There was Nani and then Lukas Podolski but Robin van Persie represents a major coup for Turkish football.

It is only three years since he was the hottest property in the Barclays Premier League, prised from Arsenal by Manchester United, and here he is destined for Fenerbahce.

At the Sukru Saracoglu, the Dutchman will earn a small fortune as he links up again with Nani and expectations will soar as they return to the Champions League after a two-year ban.

Manchester United striker Robin van Persie looks set to join former team-mate Nani at Fenerbahce 

Van Persie, who played a major role in Man United's 2012-13 title win, is said to be keen on a move to Turkey

Nani has also made the switch from Manchester United to Fenerbahce during the current transfer window

Nani delights the Fenerbahce fans as he shows off his skills

Van Persie, 32 next month, may not be what he was but he is a prestige signing for Fenerbahce - and they could not have pulled it off last year without the lure of European football.

It is a clear message to say they are back, but other Turkish clubs are at it as well, thinking big and paying big, shopping in England where the wages are the highest in Europe.

Antalyaspor have signed Samuel Eto’o from Sampdoria and Podolski has joined champions Galatasaray, who are also in pursuit of Tottenham defender Vlad Chiriches and appear to be closing in on the signing of Manchester United right back Rafael. Glen Johnson has turned down a move to Besiktas.

The leading factor is this flurry of Turkish transfer activity is the decision to scrap the quotas on foreign players this year.

There had been a strict limit of six foreign players in each team imposed by the Turkish FA (TFF) in a bid to help the ailing national side.

But this has been scrapped and replaced with a limit of 14 foreign players in each squad, bringing it closer to the Premier League model.

This will not have escaped the attention of Premier League supremo Richard Scudamore at a time when FA chairman Greg Dyke is pushing for tighter restrictions on foreign footballers in England.

In Turkey, it has been taken as a signal to open the floodgates.

The Big Three, Galatasaray, Fenerbahce and Besiktas, have always been hugely ambitious, always ready to offer riches to world stars and never afraid of an audacious swoop for a player or manager if it meant eclipsing one or both of the rivals.

A transfer window never seems to pass without Ronaldinho being linked to a Super Lig team.

Rafael appears to have made his last appearance for United as Galatasaray are closing in on his signature

Samuel Eto's has signed a deal with newly-promoted Turkish side Antalyaspor after leaving Sampdoria

The money is good, the tax rates are appealing and Fenerbahce have attracted new investment to help them fund Van Persie’s contract, reported to be worth £12million a year.

A new TV deal kicked in last summer, but Fenerbahce were still handicapped on the European market by their ban and the quota system.

While Turkish football has never been of the highest order – with a few exceptions like the fine Galatasaray team at the turn of the last century - the passion and fervour of supporters is like nowhere else.

Unfortunately, this fanaticism has its dark side, and this includes the endless corruption scandals and violence around games.

Fenerbahce’s team bus was attacked by gunfire after a 5-1 win at Trabzonspor in April and, on a separate occasion, the bus had to be swept by explosive experts.

Goalscorers and crowd-pleasers like Van Persie, Nani and Podolski should thrive in Turkish football, where the fans delight in individual brilliance, goals and flair, where Gheorghe Hagi was idolised and where there has always been a fondness for Brazilians.

Germany international Lukas Podolski completed his switch from Arsenal to Galatasaray last Saturday

Former Arsenal man Podolski tries a Turkish tea at his contract signing ceremony at the Turk Telecom Arena

Lukas Podolski discusses his move to Galatasaray

In Turkey, they have longed for one of its clubs to break out and truly make its mark in the Champions League.

Galatasaray had a go when they lured Roberto Mancini to Istanbul and signed Didier Drogba and Wesley Sneijder.

They reached the quarter finals and the last 16 in successive years, but last season finished bottom of their group with only one point and were thrashed 4-1 home and away by Arsenal.

Only Sneijder remains of that illustrious trio - and Galatasaray fans will expect a reaction in the transfer market to Van Persie’s arrival across the Bosphorus.

Chriches will not satisfy their needs. Nor will Jem Karacan, who has joined on a free from Reading.

Besikstas are on the back foot, too, having suffered from the loss of Slaven Bilic and Demba Ba, another who traded England for Istanbul. Gokhan Tore has been linked to a move to Atletico Madrid.

More Turkish lira will be spent before this window is closed.

The likes of Van Persie and Nani will join current Galatasaray star Wesley Sneijder in Turkey 

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