It was never a deal that looked all that likely given how his stock has risen over the past few months, but Besiktas’ Cenk Tosun won’t be joining Newcastle anytime soon, with it being confirmed today by Sky Sports that Everton are set to seal a £27m deal for the in-form striker.
Since the summer, our interest in the Turkish sensation has been widely reported, with club scouts believed to have been watching him regularly for club and country ahead of a potential January bid (which did seem reliant on a takeover in fairness).
With 14 goals in all competitions already this season (including 4 goals and 2 assists on the Champions League stage), he has continued to catch the eye, and his big money move to Everton is yet more proof that a takeover MUST happen to enable us to compete in the market.
So Cenk Tosun to Everton for £27m. The kind of money Rafa could only dream about spending at Ashley's #nufc. And another reminder of why the takeover needs to happen…
— Mark Douglas (@MsiDouglas) January 4, 2018
As the Chronicle’s Mark Douglas alludes to here, this is the sort of deal Rafa can only dream about pulling off under the Ashley era. This was a deal that only ever seemed possible if a takeover was in place by Christmas and that hasn’t happened.
Ashley was never going to spend £20m plus to secure the top striker Benitez desires, and Tosun’s impending move to Everton is just the latest example of our limitations as a club for as long as the fat man is in charge.
A real shame, but no surprise unfortunately. Let’s just hope this isn’t another huge case of ‘what if’, just as we saw when Lacazzete and Aubameyang slipped through the net several years ago.
