Report: West Ham in advanced talks to sign Besiktas' Gokhan Tore

West Ham United is reportedly turning to Turkish football once again, eyeing a player whose resume is marred by a firearm incident.

According to Ben Reynolds of Sky Sports, West Ham is in advanced talks to sign Besiktas' Gokhan Tore, who the Turkish club is valuing at £12 million.

The Hammers are apparently looking to bolster their squad ahead of moving into The Stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, and Slaven Bilic wants further reinforcement to build on the club's final season at Upton Park.

Tore, who spent two years at Chelsea as a youth player, made headlines three years ago, after Turkey's national team fell to the Netherlands in its final 2014 World Cup qualifier. The story, which can only be described as astounding and threatened to tear apart Turkey's squad, involved a reported affair between his former girlfriend and Omer Toprak, his international teammate, and resulted in a gun being pointed at Toprak. Hakan Calhanoglu was also implicated.

The Guardian's Emre Sarigual elaborates:

The tale begins back in May 2013, following Turkey’s loss against Holland in their final 2014 World Cup qualifier. Toprak, a friend and Calhanoglu were at the national team hotel before their flight back to Germany the following morning.

Nothing unexpected in that but what happened next - whichever version of events you believe - is staggering. Gokhan Tore, a former Chelsea youngster who now plays for Besiktas, had allegedly been stewing over a reported affair between his former girlfriend and Toprak’s friend. He was determined to get even - even if his teammates were in the way.

Accompanied by a sidekick whose identity remains unknown, Tore is alleged to have gained access to Toprak and Calhanoglu’s room after the pair had returned there. “Then the real story began,” Calhanoglu explained in an interview with the German TV channel ZDF. “Gokhan’s friend walked over to Omer, pulled out a gun from his jacket and told him he would be shot if he didn’t lay flat on the floor.

“I was hit and then I was lying in a corner. He then came up to me and said: ‘Don’t move or I will shoot you. I was curled up in the corner of the room, I couldn’t move, I was scared for my life.”

As Sarigual writes, the incident died down as circumstances that aren't entirely clear were quickly covered up. Calhanoglu, meanwhile, subsequently said that the incident went quiet in order to prevent Tore's career from ending.

Tore, along with Calhanoglu, were among the 31 players named to Turkey's provisional squad for Euro 2016.