Everton Agree to £25 Million Deal for Turkish Striker Cenk Tosun
A major part of being a successful football bettor is choosing a betting site that works for you. Finding a site that offers fair odds, quick payouts and has a solid reputation is key. While most reputable sites will tell you that Everton’s hopes of landing in the top-four of the Premier League this season are incredibly slim, the Toffees have still come a long way since their sluggish start.
Heading into last weekend’s clash with Bournemouth, Sam Allardyce’s men are currently ninth in the league on 27 points fast forward to lastnights match against Manchester United and the blues are still 9th on 27th points following 2 poor results. While we likely won’t be seeing Everton in the Champions League next season, the squad can still make strides and show improvement in the season’s second half with the right additions.
In an attempt to bolster the side, The Guardian reported Thursday that Everton have closed in on a deal for Turkish striker Cenk Tosun. Everton have agreed to a £25 million deal with Besiktas to secure the rights to the 26-year-old striker. Tosun is expected to sign a four-and-a-half year deal with the Toffees once the transfer window officially opens on January 1.
Scoring goals has been a problem for the Toffees all season long. The team failed to find a suitable replacement to the departed Romelu Lukaku over the summer, and as a result Everton have bagged just 24 goals in 20 league matches to this point. Everton reportedly reached out to out-of-favour Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud, though they were rebuffed when Arsene Wenger insisted the France international will remain in North London.
The failure to nab Giroud resulted in a renewed effort to get Tosun from Besiktas. Allardyce has reportedly been interested in the player for quite some time, as he recommended his former club, Crystal Palace, launch a bid over the summer. The Eagles subsequently had their offer rejected by Besiktas.
Tosun has scored 13 goals for Besiktas this season, including four in Champions League play. The Turkish side have reached the knockout stages of the Champions League, though they’ll have to attempt to move on without their leading goal scorer. Everton initially offered £15 million before upping the offer to £20 million with an additional £5 million in performance-related incentives.
Tosun was born in Germany and came up through Eintracht Frankfurt’s youth system. He made one appearance for the side before moving to Gaziantepspor in 2011. Tosun spent three seasons there before moving to Besiktas in 2014. He scored 41 goals in 96 appearances for the Turkish side.
Despite making two appearances for Germany’s under-21 side, Tosun made the choice to switch his national team allegiance to Turkey. He has scored eight goals in 24 games for Turkey.