Cenk Tosun bringing Everton and Besiktas fans closer

Even before Cenk Tosun was on Everton’s radar we knew Turkish fans were as radical and hardcore as they come. And as the Blues pursuit of the striker ramped up leading into the January transfer window, we got to see first hand how much they love their football and particularly one of their own, Tosun.

The forward was given a rousing reception and an standing ovation as he left the pitch for the last time for Besiktas when the deal with Everton was all but sealed.

What followed was even more amazing. There was none of the animosity between fanbases that usually follows such transfers. Instead, hundreds if not thousands of Besiktas fans simply followed their idol to Everton and became Blues overnight.

It helped that the Black Eagles had played (and beat) Liverpool in the 2014-15 Europa League. And while they (along with thousands of Blues) watched with consternation as Sam Allardyce decided to berate and then bench the striker, they hung with us.

Meanwhile the buzz around the forward kept growing. English-speaking Turkish fans like Emre Sarigul, who runs the website Turkish Football kept us updated on the player and what he was capable of doing.

March came around and Tosun won back is starting spot in the side, and followed it up with four goals in three games and his Toffees legend was being already written. Everton even started a Turkish-language Twitter account to keep the rabid Besiktas fans abreast of the player’s development.

During the last international break, Tosun even traveled back home to catch a Besiktas game before joining up with the Turkey national team.

This last weekend, Besiktas played against Kayserispor at home, and the fans showed Tosun that he was certainly not forgotten, prominently displaying a couple of Everton shirts with his name and number from the stands at the Vodafone Park Stadium.

We’ve said it before and will say it again - welcome to Everton all you Turkish fans, and bear with us while we attempt to get rid of this archaic ape managing the club right now and get our house in order once again.

In the meantime, merhaba, kulübümüze hoşgeldiniz!