Everton have seen little return on their £27m Cenk Tosun investment but will the Turkey international join Premier League rivals Crystal Palace next summer?
Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish has admitted that the Londoners will look to sign £27 million Everton striker Cenk Tosun on a permanent deal in the summer ‘if things go well’, speaking on Palace’s YouTube page.
Two years after a former Besiktas hero made a big-money move to Goodison Park, described by then-Everton boss Sam Allardyce as the best value-for-money striker in Europe, the Turkey international is now playing for a rival Premier League club on loan.
Tosun failed to set the world alight on Merseyside, managing just nine goals in 44 top-flight games with Carlo Ancelotti seemingly reluctant to put his faith in a man who had also fallen out of favour under Marco Silva.
But with Crystal Palace desperate for a new number nine, the Londoners seized the chance to bring Tosun to Selhurst Park on loan until the end of the season. And if the 28-year-old can build on that debut goal against Manchester City, a permanent move could be on the cards.
“(Manager) Roy (Hodgson) felt we needed more firepower, so we took Cenk,” Parish admitted. “Obviously if we had bought him for £20million or whatever, maybe that would have been a better PR story, but he is an excellent player.
“I think he will be a big help going into the next six months and I see no reason why we couldn’t make that a permanent deal in the summer, if things go well for both parties.”
According to the Liverpool Echo, Everton will demand £20 million for Tosun if Crystal Palace are keen to keep him at Selhurst Park.
And if the 40-cap striker can rediscover the sort of form that saw him fire Besiktas to successive Super Lig titles in 2015 and 2016, that will be £20 million well spent.
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