Everton Signs Star Striker Cenk Tosun From Besiktas
Everton have officially completed the signing of striker Cenk Tosun from Besiktas on a four-and-a-half-year deal.
The Turkish forward joins the Merseysiders for a fee believed to be in the region of £27m, having scored 41 goals in 96 Super Lig games for the Istanbul side.
In a statement on the Everton website, he said: “It feels great to be an Everton player. I’m really happy to be here and happy that everything is done. I’m really excited to play for Everton as soon as possible. Everton is a great club with a big history and a big culture and I’m looking forward to showing the fans the kind of player I am.
“I bring my skills here and everybody is going to see what kind of player I am. I believe I can be a good player in the Premier League for Everton. The Premier League is a strong league, I know that, so my own physical strength will help me. Also I can use both feet the same and I believe I am a good striker in the box.
“I’m really looking forward to training with my teammates and getting to know them and, of course, I want to play as soon as possible. The Tottenham game will be the first game I am available for and I’m very excited about it already. I’m really excited to work with my new teammates because Everton has really, really big names, big players.
"I’m excited to play with them and to learn from them as well, players like Wayne Rooney and the very good creative players we have here, too. They can help me score goals. I know the guys as I’ve always watched Everton’s games from Turkey, so I know a bit about the team already. I hope they can make a lot of assists for me!”
Manager Sam Allardyce added: “This lad looks like he is strong mentally and has a good pedigree. He is Turkey’s No.1 striker and has scored goals in the Champions League and the Turkish League but he is desperate to play here in the Premier League.
“He is an all-rounder, with good movement. He is two-footed, perhaps not the biggest but he’s very efficient in the air and in the box he gets good space to get his head on the ball. We looked at the qualities of the player, his talent and goalscoring, and his resilience, too. I do not think you can look any more than we have done and, for the price, he is the best in Europe at the moment.”
