Cenk Tosun
Tosun with Turkey in 2016
Personal information
Full name Cenk Tosun[1]
Date of birth (1991-06-07) 7 June 1991 (age 32)[2]
Place of birth Wetzlar, Germany
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
 Beşiktaş
Number 9
Youth career
1997–2008 Eintracht Frankfurt
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2010 Eintracht Frankfurt II 17 (12)
2009–2011 Eintracht Frankfurt 1 (0)
2011–2014 Gaziantepspor 109 (39)
2014–2018 Beşiktaş 96 (41)
2018–2022 Everton 50 (9)
2020 → Crystal Palace (loan) 5 (1)
2021 → Beşiktaş (loan) 3 (3)
2022– Beşiktaş 61 (20)
International career‡
2006–2007 Germany U16 2 (1)
2008–2009 Germany U18 8 (6)
2009–2010 Germany U19 8 (6)
2010–2011 Germany U21 2 (1)
2012 Turkey U21 1 (0)
2011–2015 Turkey B 12 (7)
2013– Turkey 50 (20)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:22, 13 April 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:01, 15 October 2023 (UTC)

Cenk Tosun (Turkish: [dʒeɲc ˈtosun]; born 7 June 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Süper Lig club Beşiktaş and the Turkey national team.

After making one Bundesliga appearance for Eintracht Frankfurt, he transferred to Gaziantepspor in January 2011, where he won the Spor Toto Cup in 2012. In 2014, he was signed by Beşiktaş and won two Süper Lig titles before transferring to Everton in January 2018 for a reported £27 million transfer fee. After loans to fellow Premier League team Crystal Palace and back to Beşiktaş, he signed for the latter at the end of his contract in 2022.

Tosun was born in Germany and played for the representative teams of the German Football Association from under-16 to under-21 level. He then changed his allegiance to the Turkish Football Federation, for whom he made his senior international debut with in 2013, and played at UEFA Euro 2016.

Club career

Eintracht Frankfurt

Born in Wetzlar in the German state of Hesse, Tosun began his career with Eintracht Frankfurt. He played mainly for the reserves in the Regionalliga. His sole first team appearance was on 8 May 2010 in the final match of the 2009–10 Bundesliga season as a 75th-minute substitute for Martin Fenin in a 3–1 loss at VfL Wolfsburg.[3]

Gaziantepspor

On 29 January 2011, Tosun joined Gaziantepspor for a €400,000 transfer fee.[4] He scored 10 goals in 14 league matches in his debut season. After a less successful second season, he scored double digits in the following two campaigns and helped the club win the Spor Toto Cup in 2012.[4] He scored twice in the final, a 3–1 win over Orduspor on 17 May 2012.[5]

Beşiktaş

Tosun playing for Beşiktaş in 2014

On 4 February 2014, Beşiktaş signed Tosun on a five-year contract worth nearly €500,000, effective from the 2014–15 season.[6] He chose the number 23 shirt after basketball player Michael Jordan.[4] In his first two campaigns at the Istanbul club, he was mainly a substitute, behind Demba Ba and Mario Gómez in the pecking order.[4] After Ba and Gómez left, he was a regular in the 2016–17 season, scoring 24 goals as his club won the Süper Lig title.[4] He then turned down a move to Premier League club Crystal Palace.[4]

In 2017–18, Tosun scored four goals in six matches as Beşiktaş won a UEFA Champions League group containing RB Leipzig, Porto and Monaco, including both of a 2–1 win at Monaco on 17 October.[7]

Everton

On 5 January 2018, Tosun joined Premier League club Everton for a reported £27 million transfer fee, signing a four-and-a-half-year contract with the Merseyside club.[8][9] He made his debut eight days later, playing 61 minutes of a 4–0 loss away to Tottenham Hotspur.[10] He scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1 away loss against Burnley on 3 March.[11] Manager Sam Allardyce praised Tosun when he received criticism for the start of his Everton career.[12] Tosun and fellow new signing Theo Walcott helped an Everton side that had struggled for goals in the first half of the season as the club finished in eighth place in the 2017–18 Premier League.[13]

Under new manager Marco Silva, Tosun lost his starting place to Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Moise Kean. However, he stayed at the club for the 2019–20 season after rejecting moves to Galatasaray S.K. and Qatar's Al-Gharafa SC.[14][15]

Loan to Crystal Palace

Tosun moved on loan to Crystal Palace for the rest of the 2019–20 season on 10 January 2020.[16] He made his debut the next day against Arsenal when he came on for Max Meyer in the 68th minute of the 1–1 home draw.[17] In his next game, a first start on 18 January, he scored in a 2–2 draw away to reigning champions Manchester City.[18]

In March, Tosun was sidelined with an anterior cruciate ligament injury picked up during training.[19] He returned to Everton for rehabilitation once surgery had been completed.[20]

Loan to Beşiktaş

On 31 January 2021, Tosun returned to Beşiktaş on a loan deal until the end of the season.[21] On his league debut on 15 February, he came on as a 62nd-minute replacement for Vincent Aboubakar and scored twice in a 3–0 win at Gençlerbirliği.[22] He subsequently suffered another knee injury and was diagnosed with COVID-19.[23]

Return to Beşiktaş

On 10 June 2022, Everton stated Tosun would be released at the end of the month once his contract expired.[24] On 2 July 2022, Tosun signed with Beşiktaş for a third stint with the club.[25] In his first full season back at the club, he scored 15 goals in 32 games, sixth best in the league and second best for Turkish players after Umut Nayir's 17 for Ümraniyespor;[26] this included two on 2 April in a 4–2 win at Istanbul rivals Fenerbahçe.[27]

International career

Germany youth

Tosun played for Germany under-19 in qualification for the 2010 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. In the qualifying group in Luxembourg, he scored twice in a 5–0 win over Moldova and a consolation goal in a 2–1 loss to Turkey.[28] He scored a hat-trick in a 4–1 win over Poland in the Elite Round, but Germany did not advance to the finals in France.[29]

On 16 November 2010, Tosun made his under-21 debut in a 2–0 friendly win over England in Wiesbaden, scoring a penalty for the second goal.[30]

Turkey

Tosun lining up for Turkey B in 2013

Tosun made his senior international debut for Turkey on 15 October 2013, replacing Selçuk İnan for the final 16 minutes of a 2–0 loss to the Netherlands in a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying match at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium in Istanbul; the result ended the Turks' hope of qualification.[31] On 13 November 2015, he scored his first international goal, the winner in a 2–1 friendly triumph away to Qatar.[32] He added another two goals on 24 March 2016 in a 2–1 friendly win over Sweden in Antalya.[33]

Tosun was part of the 23-man squad chosen by head coach Fatih Terim for UEFA Euro 2016 in France.[34] He started in the opening match, a 1–0 loss to Croatia, but was dropped in favour of Burak Yılmaz for the following match against Spain. Tosun then returned as an added-time substitute in the 2–0 win over the Czech Republic in Lens that was not enough to take Turkey to the round of 16.[35]

In Turkey's failed qualification campaign for the 2018 World Cup, Tosun scored five goals. These were braces in both matches against Finland,[36][37] and the only goal of a home win over eventual qualifiers Croatia on 5 September 2017.[38] On 1 June 2018, Tosun scored a penalty to open a 2–2 friendly draw with Tunisia in Geneva, then was sent-off for the first time in his career for a confrontation with the Turkish fans; he said he intervened because he thought his father was being attacked in the crowd.[39]

Tosun was Turkey's top scorer with five goals in Turkey's successful UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying. These included braces in home and away 4–0 wins over Moldova.[40][41] He missed the final tournament – delayed to 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic – due to injury.[42]

Style of play

Tosun has said his ability is equal with his left and right foot, as his father Senol forbade him from using his right foot in an attempt to strengthen his left.[4] As a boy, he idolised Argentine forward Gabriel Batistuta.[4] While Tosun likens himself to Mario Gómez and Zlatan Ibrahimović, The Times writer Gary Jacob instead found him more similar to the English strikers Kevin Davies and Andy Carroll for his physicality.[43]

Political views

On 11 October 2019, Tosun scored in the 90th minute of a 1–0 home win over Albania in a Euro 2020 qualifier, and was one of the Turkish players who participated in a "military salute" goal celebration.[44][45][46] That same day, he published a photograph on Instagram in which he stated support for soldiers involved in the Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria.[46][47]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 29 February 2024[48]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Eintracht Frankfurt 2009–10 Bundesliga 1 0 0 0 — — — 1 0
Gaziantepspor 2010–11 Süper Lig 14 10 4 2 — — — 18 12
2011–12 32 6 1 1 6 5 4[c] 0 — 43 12
2012–13 32 10 3 1 — — — 35 11
2013–14 31 13 1 1 — — — 32 14
Total 109 39 9 5 6 5 4 0 — 128 49
Beşiktaş 2014–15 Süper Lig 18 5 2 3 — 8[d] 1 — 28 9
2015–16 29 8 8 7 — 6[c] 2 — 43 17
2016–17 33 20 1 0 — 12[e] 4 1[f] 0 47 24
2017–18 16 8 1 1 — 6[g] 4 1[f] 1 24 14
Total 96 41 12 11 — 32 11 2 1 142 64
Everton 2017–18[49] Premier League 14 5 0 0 0 0 — — 14 5
2018–19[50] 25 3 2 1 2 0 — — 29 4
2019–20[51] 5 1 0 0 3 0 — — 8 1
2020–21[52] 5 0 2 1 0 0 — — 7 1
2021–22[53] 1 0 2 0 0 0 — — 3 0
Total 50 9 6 2 5 0 — — 61 11
Crystal Palace (loan) 2019–20[51] Premier League 5 1 — — — — 5 1
Beşiktaş 2020–21 Süper Lig 3 3 1 0 — — — 4 3
2022–23 32 15 2 3 — — — 34 18
2023–24 24 5 3 3 — 8 2 — 35 10
Total 59 23 6 6 0 0 8 2 0 0 73 31
Career total 320 113 33 24 11 5 44 13 2 1 410 156
  1. ^ Includes Turkish Cup, FA Cup
  2. ^ Includes Spor Toto Cup, EFL Cup
  3. ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. ^ Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, four appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League
  5. ^ Six appearances and one goal in UEFA Champions League, six appearances and four goals in UEFA Europa League
  6. ^ a b Appearance in Turkish Super Cup
  7. ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League

International

As of match played 28 March 2023[54][55]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Turkey 2013 1 0
2014 0 0
2015 4 1
2016 11 2
2017 9 5
2018 10 3
2019 7 5
2020 3 2
2021 0 0
2022 2 0
2023 3 2
Total 50 20
Scores and results list Turkey's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Tosun goal.
List of international goals scored by Cenk Tosun[54]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 13 November 2015 Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha, Qatar  Qatar 2–1 2–1 Friendly
2 24 March 2016 Antalya Stadium, Antalya, Turkey  Sweden 1–0 2–1 Friendly
3 2–1
4 24 March 2017 Antalya Stadium, Antalya, Turkey  Finland 1–0 2–0 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
5 2–0
6 5 September 2017 New Eskişehir Stadium, Eskişehir, Turkey  Croatia 1–0 1–0 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
7 9 October 2017 Veritas Stadion, Turku, Finland  Finland 1–0 2–2 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
8 2–1
9 28 May 2018 Başakşehir Fatih Terim Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey  Iran 1–0 2–1 Friendly
10 2–0
11 1 June 2018 Stade de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland  Tunisia 1–0 2–2  Friendly
12 25 March 2019 New Eskişehir Stadium, Eskişehir, Turkey  Moldova 2–0 4–0 UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
13 3–0
14 10 September 2019 Zimbru Stadium, Chișinău, Moldova 1–0 4–0 UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
15 3–0
16 11 October 2019 Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey  Albania 1–0 1–0 UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
17 11 November 2020 Vodafone Park, Istanbul, Turkey  Croatia 1–0 3–3 Friendly
18 15 November 2020 Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey  Russia 3–1 3–2 2020–21 UEFA Nations League B
19 15 October 2023 Konya Metropolitan Municipality Stadium, Konya, Turkey  Latvia 2–0 4–0 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying
20 4–0

Honours

Gaziantepspor

Beşiktaş

Individual

References

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  2. ^ a b "Cenk Tosun: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  3. ^ "Dzeko schießt sich zur Torjäger-Kanone" [Dzeko shoots the Torjäger Cannon]. kicker (in German). 8 May 2010. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Jones, Neil (28 December 2017). "Everton target Cenk Tosun – the two-footed Turk who idolises Gabriel Omar Batistuta and just loves scoring goals". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  5. ^ a b "Antep'in kupa keyfi!" [Antep's trophy pressure] (in Turkish). beIN Sports. 18 May 2012. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  6. ^ "Cenk Tosun resmen Beşiktaş'ta" (in Turkish). 4 February 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
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  57. ^ "64. Gillette Milliyet Yılın Sporcusu Ödülleri sahiplerini buldu!".
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External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cenk Tosun.
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