Everton and Cenk Tosun were supposed to be a great match. The Turk came to Goodison Park with a reputation of a predator and a prolific goalscorer with records and numbers to suggest the claim. Before coming to Everton in January 2018, Tosun had a superb goal laden 2016-17 campaign, scoring 24 goals in 47 games for Besiktas.
Tosun arrived through the doors of Goodison Park as a £27 million signing to answer the Everton worries upfront. The Toffees had so far miserably failed to replace Romelu Lukaku who joined Manchester United earlier that summer. Tosun did impress initially under Sam Allardyce but once Big Sam departed, the Turk failed to make any positive impact.
More from Prince Rupert's Tower
- Everton 0 Arsenal 1: Blues fall to third home defeat
- Further chaos in Everton takeover as other lenders not keen on 777 Partners
- Everton need repeat of Arsenal win to kick-start their season on Sunday
- More madness at Everton as Moshiri now agrees to sell club to 777 Partners
- Everton takeover talk cools after UK govt doubts and further questions
He was indecisive in front of the goal and struggled to adjust to the systems of Marco Silva and later Carlo Ancelotti. In 2020, he suffered a cruciate ligament tear while on loan at Crystal Palace, ending his adventure with the Eagles. After returning to Everton and regaining fitness after nearly nine months, Tosun was playing as backup to Dominic Calvert-Lewin under Ancelotti.
However, he was eager to get more playing opportunities and there was no chance he would pip DCL in the starting lineup. The 30 year old left on loan to Besiktas where he suffered another horrific injury and underwent surgery. He’s now recovering from the patella rupture and is expected to be fit by mid-November. Now, with less than one year left on his deal, there have been plenty of talks regarding his future.
Everton striker Cenk Tosun could join Besiktas for free in January
According to Fotospor (via Sport Witness), Tosun could return to Besiktas on a free transfer in January. With his deal expiring in June 2022, there is a chance that Everton will allow him to leave for free in January itself.
The 30 year old is keen to return to playing as the Qatar World Cup edges closer. He had a chance to join the Black Eagles on a free transfer in the summer but Tosun decided to stay at Everton mainly because of two reasons.
The Turkey international is recovering from his surgery and has started light running. Within a few weeks, Tosun will also begin training with the ball as he remains on schedule to return by mid-November. So, he didn’t want to hamper his recuperation process by changing club and country.
Secondly, had he joined Besiktas in the summer, he would’ve earned £1.28 million per season but at Everton he pockets around £3 million a year. So, in order to not let go of the extra money that he could earn, the Turk did not move in the summer.
He doesn’t seem to feature in Rafa Benitez’s plans as the Royal Blues have signed Salomon Rondon who seems to be a massive upgrade on his predecessors. Everything points at Tosun’s torrid time at Everton coming to an end.
Tosun could not be the only Everton player who could ply their trade in Turkey as James Rodriguez also remains linked with a move to 2019-20 Super Lig champions Istanbul Basaksehir.
Will Cenk Tosun join Besiktas in January?