Cenk Tosun is a professional football player who was developed in Germany, represented Turkey at the national team level, and has played for clubs such as Beşiktaş, Everton, and Fenerbahçe during his career.

Birth and Early Years

Cenk Tosun was born on June 7, 1991, in Wetzlar, Hessen, Germany. He started his football career at the Raunheim club in Germany. At a young age, he joined the Eintracht Frankfurt academy and signed a professional contract there. He played in only one match in the Bundesliga for Eintracht Frankfurt.

Football Career

Gaziantepspor (2010–2014)

In the mid-season of 2010-2011, he transferred to Gaziantepspor, a Turkish Super League team, with a permanent move. He finished his first season with 12 goals and 6 assists in 18 matches. During his four-season career at Gaziantepspor, he played in a total of 122 official matches, scoring 44 goals and providing 23 assists.

Beşiktaş (2014–2018)

Following his performance at Gaziantepspor, Cenk Tosun transferred to Beşiktaş with a permanent move in the 2014-2015 season. In his first period at Beşiktaş, he played for 3.5 seasons, scoring 64 goals and providing 13 assists in 142 official matches. With 16 goals in the 2016-2017 season, he stood out in the Super League top scorer race and increased Beşiktaş's chance of having a top scorer for two consecutive seasons. In the same season, he was selected as UEFA's player of the week after a performance of one goal and one assist against Hapoel Beer-Sheva in the UEFA Europa League.

Everton (2018–2022)

In January 2018, he transferred to Everton, an English Premier League team, for a transfer fee of 22 million euros. This transfer was one of the highest transfer fees in Super League history at the time. He played in 61 matches for Everton, but due to injuries, he did not get regular playing time. During this period, he was loaned to Crystal Palace in the 2019-2020 season (5 matches) and to Beşiktaş in the 2020-2021 season (4 matches).

Beşiktaş (2022–2024)

At the beginning of the 2022-2023 season, he joined Beşiktaş as a free agent. In his second period, he played in over 85 matches in total, and in his overall Beşiktaş career, he played 227 matches, directly contributing to 126 goals with 96 goals and 30 assists. On July 16, 2024, his contract with Beşiktaş expired, and the club thanked him in a statement.

Fenerbahçe (2024–)

After parting ways with Beşiktaş, he signed a two-year contract with Fenerbahçe in 2024. The transfer was announced by the club to the public.

National Team

Although Cenk Tosun played for Germany's youth categories, he chose the Turkish A National Team in 2011. He made his debut for the A national team in 2013. He played in a total of 53 matches and scored 21 goals. With this performance, he shares the same rank as Lefter Küçükandonyadis, who is the fifth all-time top scorer in national team history.

He was part of the national team squad in the EURO 2016 and EURO 2024 tournaments. In EURO 2024, with his goal against Czechia, he became the oldest Turkish football player to score in a European Championship (33 years, 19 days). In the same tournament, in his statements before the Round of 16 match against Austria, he emphasized the responsibility of being an example to young players.

Playing Style and Attributes

Cenk Tosun has played as a forward throughout his career; he has stood out with his effective header shots and his ability to position himself in the penalty area. He has sometimes scored aesthetically pleasing goals.