Cenk Tosun (; born 7 June 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for TFF First League club Fatih Karagümrük.
After making one Bundesliga appearance for Eintracht Frankfurt, Tosun 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 in 2013, and played at UEFA Euro 2016 and Euro 2024.
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.
Gaziantepspor On 29 January 2011, Tosun joined Gaziantepspor for a €400,000 transfer fee. 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. He scored twice in the final, a 3–1 win over Orduspor on 17 May 2012.
Beşiktaş
On 4 February 2014, Beşiktaş signed Tosun on a five-year contract worth nearly €500,000, effective from the 2014–15 season. He chose the number 23 shirt after basketball player Michael Jordan. In his first two campaigns at the Istanbul club, he was mainly a substitute, behind Demba Ba and Mario Gómez in the pecking order. 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. He then turned down a move to Premier League club Crystal Palace.
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.
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. He made his debut eight days later, playing 61 minutes of a 4–0 loss away to Tottenham Hotspur. He scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1 away loss against Burnley on 3 March. Manager Sam Allardyce praised Tosun when he received criticism for the start of his Everton career. 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.
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.
Loan to Crystal Palace Tosun moved on loan to Crystal Palace for the rest of the 2019–20 season on 10 January 2020. 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. In his next game, a first start on 18 January, he scored in a 2–2 draw away to reigning champions Manchester City.
In March, Tosun was sidelined with an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury picked up during training. He returned to Everton for rehabilitation once surgery had been completed.
Loan to Beşiktaş On 31 January 2021, Tosun returned to Beşiktaş on a loan deal until the end of the season. 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. He subsequently suffered another knee injury and was diagnosed with COVID-19.
Return to Beşiktaş On 10 June 2022, Everton stated Tosun would be released at the end of the month once his contract expired. On 2 July 2022, Tosun signed with Beşiktaş for a third stint with the club. 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; this included two on 2 April in a 4–2 win at Istanbul rivals Fenerbahçe.
Fenerbahçe On 16 July 2024, Tosun signed a two-year contract with Fenerbahçe, the cross-town rivals of his old club, on a free transfer after his contract with Beşiktaş was expired and not renewed. On 19 January 2025, he made his first official goal in a 0–4 Süper Lig away victory against Adana Demirspor.
On 12 October 2025, Tosun was sidelined from the Fenerbahçe squad along with İrfan Can Kahveci.
On 15 January 2026, Fenerbahçe announced that his contract was terminated by mutual agreement.
Kasımpaşa A day after leaving Fenerbahçe on 16 January 2026, Tosun joined fellow Turkish side Kasımpaşa. He scored his first goal in a 3–2 Süper Lig victory against Fatih Karagümrük.
Fatih Karagümrük On 7 July 2026, Tosun joined Fatih Karagümrük.
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. 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.
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.
Turkey
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. On 13 November 2015, he scored his first international goal, the winner in a 2–1 friendly triumph away to Qatar. He added another two goals on 24 March 2016 in a 2–1 friendly win over Sweden in Antalya.
Tosun was part of the 23-man squad chosen by head coach Fatih Terim for UEFA Euro 2016 in France. 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.
In Turkey's failed qualification campaign for the 2018 World Cup, Tosun scored five goals. These were braces in both matches against Finland, and the only goal of a home win over eventual qualifiers Croatia on 5 September 2017. 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.
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. He missed the final tournament – delayed to 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic – due to injury.
On 7 June 2024, he was selected in the 26-man squad for UEFA Euro 2024. On 26 June, he scored a stoppage-time goal in a 2–1 victory over Czech Republic in the last group stage match, securing his country's qualification to the knockout phase for the first time since 2008.
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. As a boy, he idolised Argentine forward Gabriel Batistuta. While Tosun likens himself to former strikers 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.
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. 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.
Personal life Tosun is a Muslim.
Career statistics Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupEuropeOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsEintracht Frankfurt2009–10Bundesliga1000———10Gaziantepspor2010–11Süper Lig141042———18122011–12Süper Lig326116540—43122012–13Süper Lig321031———35112013–14Süper Lig311311———3214Total10939956540—12849Beşiktaş2014–15Süper Lig18523—81—2892015–16Süper Lig29887—62—43172016–17Süper Lig332010—1241047242017–18Süper Lig16811—64112414Total96411211—32112114264Everton2017–18Premier League14500———1452018–19Premier League2532120——2942019–20Premier League510030——812020–21Premier League502100——712021–22Premier League102000——30Total5096250——6111Crystal Palace (loan)2019–20Premier League51————51Beşiktaş (loan)2020–21Süper Lig3310———43Beşiktaş2022–23Süper Lig321523———34182023–24Süper Lig34653—82—4711Total692486—82—8532Fenerbahçe2024–25Süper Lig12121—80—2222025–26Süper Lig5000—200070Total17121—10000292Kasımpaşa2025–26Süper Lig111————111Career total3581163725115541321462160
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsTurkey20131020140020154120161122017952018103201975202032202100202220202332202431Total5321
Scores and results list Turkey's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Tosun goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Cenk TosunNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 13 November 2015 Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha, Qatar 2–1 2–1 Friendly224 March 2016 Antalya Stadium, Antalya, Turkey 1–0 2–1 Friendly3 2–14 24 March 2017 Antalya Stadium, Antalya, Turkey 1–0 2–0 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification5 2–06 5 September 2017 New Eskişehir Stadium, Eskişehir, Turkey 1–0 1–0 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification7 9 October 2017 Veritas Stadion, Turku, Finland 1–0 2–2 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification8 2–1928 May 2018 Başakşehir Fatih Terim Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey 1–0 2–1 Friendly10 2–011 1 June 2018 Stade de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland 1–0 2–2 Friendly1225 March 2019 New Eskişehir Stadium, Eskişehir, Turkey 2–0 4–0 UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying13 3–01410 September 2019 Zimbru Stadium, Chișinău, Moldova 1–0 4–0 UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying15 3–016 11 October 2019 Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey 1–0 1–0 UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying17 11 November 2020 Vodafone Park, Istanbul, Turkey 1–0 3–3 Friendly18 15 November 2020 Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey 3–1 3–2 2020–21 UEFA Nations League B1915 October 2023 Konya Metropolitan Municipality Stadium, Konya, Turkey 2–0 4–0 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying20 4–021 26 June 2024 Volksparkstadion, Hamburg, Germany 2–1 2–1 UEFA Euro 2024
Honours Beşiktaş Süper Lig: 2015–16, 2016–17, 2020–21 Turkish Cup: 2020–21, 2023–24
Individual Turkish Footballer of the Year: 2017
References
External links
Profile at the Beşiktaş J.K. website
Official website