Cenk Tosun rejected Turkey return to fight for Everton place

Everton striker Cenk Tosun reportedly turned down a switch to Galatasaray and a return to his native Turkey on transfer deadline day.

Tosun, 28, had previously played in the Süper Lig for Gaziantepspor and Beşiktaş, before making a £27 million move to Goodison Park in January 2018.

But he has struggled to find the net as regularly in England as he did in his home country, netting just nine times in 43 Blues appearances.

His only game time this season came as a substitute in the 4-2 EFL Cup win at Lincoln City, but according to a Haberturk report, as cited by The Boot Room, he declined an eleventh-hour opportunity to come home.

Photo by Alex Broadway/Getty Images

Galatasaray were in the market for another striker after signing Radamel Falcao from AS Monaco to compensate for the summer departures of loanee Kostas Mitroglou and Mbaye Diagne.

And the report suggests that Everton manager Marco Silva, who has preferred young forwards Moise Kean and Dominic Calvert-Lewin over Tosun this term, sanctioned the deal, only for the player to reject the move himself.

It is also possible that Tosun did not want to represent Galatasaray, a rival of Beşiktaş, but a Goodison exit would certainly have left the Blues light up front, with Kean, Calvert-Lewin and Oumar Niasse their only alternatives.

Having missed out on Tosun, Galatasaray instead landed Brighton striker Florin Andone on a season-long loan.