BBC commentator Noel Whelan has claimed Marco Silva is set to reward Cenk Tosun for his grit in fighting for his place at Goodison Park, and lauded the Turkey striker for his determination in not giving in.
Tosun has struggled to establish himself since his £27million move from Bestikas in 2018, and swiftly fell down Silva’s pecking order last season with Richarlison moved in centrally at first before Dominic Calvert-Lewin took over duties as the focal point in our attacking line-up.
Silva has begun to lean toward Tosun again in recent weeks, though, as the £60,000-per-week forward was given his first start in the Premier League this season against Southampton last time out, having featured from the bench in just two of our previous 11 top-flight games.
The 28-year-old had been out of favour in the Carabao Cup, as well, with Silva preferring Moise Kean against Lincoln City, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin at Sheffield Wednesday and at home to Watford.
Tosun could have walked away from Goodison Park in the summer after starting just 11 games across all competitions last season, but rejected a deadline day transfer to Galatasaray and turned down a move to Qatari side Al Gharafa.
His attitude and desire to fight for his place on Merseyside rather than walking away has impressed Whelan, who has told Football Insider that those are the reasons why Silva has begun to lean toward Tosun again.
“What you’re seeing is a change in attitude,” Whelan said. “We keep talking about off-the-field, people who aren’t doing it, contract disputes, we’re talking about how you need fight within a side – he’s obviously fighting for his place and that’s great to see.
Who should start at ST vs Norwich?
Cenk Tosun
Moise Kean
Richarlison
Calvert-Lewin
“It’s refreshing to see and the manager will reward that hard work and attitude from players. He’s a great player, he’s got the European Championships to look forward to with Turkey, so he’s one of these players you would hope that when he went to Everton, he would shine.
“He’s had a difficult spell, he’s not hit the heights that everyone expected him to but he’s obviously worked hard enough on the training ground and he’s being rewarded for that. He’s a great striker and if you give him the right service, he’ll score goals. It’s his time to shine and to try and take that.”
Tosun missed Turkey’s Euro 2020 qualifiers over the past week after suffering a groin injury in training, but head coach Senol Gunes expects the forward to be fit for our league game with Norwich City on Saturday.