Cenk Tosun is viewed behind the scenes as a ‘cautionary tale’ at Everton and a lesson that the Premier League outfit must learn from as they look to improve their track-record in the recruitment department.
If you were to rank Everton’s worst signings of the Farhad Moshiri era, there would be a whole host of overpaid underachievers vying for a place on the podium.
Davy Klaassen, Yannick Bolasie, Andre Gomes, Theo Walcott and Ashley Williams to name but a few. Nikola Vlasic, Morgan Schneiderlin, Michael Keane and the injury-hit Jean-Philippe Gbamin did not come close to justifying their price-tags either.
And, after scoring just 11 goals in 61 games during his time at Goodison Park, the £27 million Everton invested in Tosun returned painfully pitiful rewards.
Everton signed Cenk Tosun from Besiktas for £27m
According to The Athletic, the Turkey international is now viewed at Everton as a ‘case study for what not to do’ in the transfer market these days. Tosun, while prolific at Besiktas between 2015 and 2018, arrived on Merseyside without any sort of a reputation in a major European league. That showed too; the striker unable to make the leap to a more competitive, high-pressure division.
Then-Everton boss Sam Allardyce felt that Tosun, even at nearly £30 million, represented excellent value for money. Comments which aged like warm milk; Tosun departing upon the expiry of his contract last summer having failed to even reach double figures in England’s top-flight.
“I want to play for teams that are fighting for championships and have a European goal. I love that competitive excitement,” Tosun said at the time; returning for a third spell at Besiktas’ Vodafone Arena. “I miss that excitement.
“I’ll leave England, 100 per cent. It does not seem possible for me to play for teams chasing trophies in the Premier League. Other offers don’t excite me at all.
“It’s not about money. I miss the title race. That’s why I’m going to a competitive team with goals. For me, these conditions do not exist in England.”
Typically, Tosun has been a man reborn since bidding a less-than-fond farewell to the Toffees. In just 14 starts, he has 11 goals for a Besiktas side sitting third in Turkey’s top flight.
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