Crystal Palace are in the race to sign Besiktas star striker Cenk Tosun, according to reports. The Turkish International has been one of the most prolific strikers in the Turkish Super Lig this season. However, the Eagles face stiff competition from PL rivals Everton and Crystal Palace along with German giants Borussia Dortmund.
The 26-year-old former Eintracht Frankfurt youth player has already notched up ten goals 18 games this season, including four goals in five games, as Besiktas top their group in the Champions League. The rumours further fueled when Selhurst Park director of football Dougie Freedman also saw Tosun score twice for Turkey against Finland in a World Cup qualifier. But do the Eagles really need the services of the Turkish attacker at the moment?
Crystal Palace has been by far the most disappointing team in the English top flight this season, stuck at the bottom of the table after gathering just eight minutes after twelve matches. Their lack of goal-scoring prowess has been one of their main reasons for their demise. Only fellow underperformers, Swansea(7), have scored fewer goals than Palace(8) this season.
Furthermore, most of the attackers have also failed to provide their 100 percent this season. With main number nine, Christian Benteke, failing to find the net and secondary striker Connor Wickham being sidelined due to his injury for the most part of this season, head coach Roy Hodgson could very well use the services of Cenk Tosun at Crystal Palace.
The 26-year-old has evolved as one of the leading strikers in Turkish football within the past few seasons and is definitely the focal point of the highly renowned Besiktas attack.
Tosun, who has been at Besiktas since 2014, finished the second most lethal goalscorer in the Turkish Super Lig last season by scoring an impressive 20 goals. Even in his younger days, Cenk Tosun always had the potential to evolve as a top class goalscorer in any of Europe’s top five leagues and the 26-year-old is clearly living up to his expectation right now.
His addition to the team could definitely bolster the attacking options for head coach Roy Hodgson. Crystal Palace are set to remain interested in the Turkish forward, despite seeing their summer bid rejected by the Turkish club. Palace fans will hope that the Besiktas forward can bring the much-needed offensive boost their club has been lacking so far this season and help them to stay back in the top flight in the next season as well.
