Cypriot club Apollon Limassol and Turkish side Fenerbahce have reached a preliminary agreement for the transfer of 22-year-old Hungarian defender Attila Szalai.

The agreement was confirmed by Apollon through a statement on their official website.

The Hungarian international will travel to Istanbul for his medical test, the last thing pending before the transfer is officially confirmed.

Although the details of the deal have not been disclosed, the transfer fee is estimated to be somewhere in the range of 1.5 to 2 million euros.

The presence of any additional clauses, such as a resale clause on any profit the Turkish club may generate on a future transfer, has not been made public.

Szalai’s previous club, Hungarian club Mezőkövesd, will also receive a transfer fee percentage from the deal. The percentage is thought to be between 15 and 20 percent.

This is not the first time a Cypriot club has sold a player to a Turkish club. Shehu Abdullahi moved from Anorthosis to Bursaspor in 2018 for an undisclosed fee, while Sanel Jahić moved from Apoel to Karabükspor in 2012.

Losing Szalai before the season ends is far from ideal for Apollon, since he has excelled as a centre back in both a three-man and two-man centre-back configuration, and has also provided cover at left-back.

Apollon are expected to dip into the transfer market during the January window for a replacement, and might also recall Giorgos Malekkidis from Karmiotissa.

Although Malekkidis tends to feature as a left-winger or left-sided forward, he can also cover at left wing-back and left-back.