I’m going to be Everton’s new Romelu Lukaku – Cenk Tosun

Everton striker Cenk Tosun has pledged that he will become the Goodison Park side’s new Romelu Lukaku.

The Turkey international forward recently signed for the Toffees for a fee that is thought to have been in the region of £20 million, having impressed with his all-action displays in the Champions League for Besiktas.


He arrived on Merseyside with Everton ninth in the league – significantly down on where they would wish to be. Scoring goals has been a particular burden since they sold Lukaku to Manchester United for £75m in the summer, and Cenk hopes to be the remedy for that malady.

“Lukaku did really well here but I am hoping to score as many goals as I can and do well,” he said. “Of course I think I can do it.

“It doesn’t put a lot of pressure on me. It is a great honour. I would like to become a great role model for all the other players in Turkey. I regard this league as the best in the world. It is fast and strong here and the ball is always moving. My character as a player is suitable to this kind of football.”

But while Cenk offers a powerful, English-style flavour, his idol actually hails from the other side of the world.

“Gabriel Batistuta was one of my idols. I loved his playing style,” he admitted. “He was a great header of the ball. There is a saying he could shoot with his head. I think there are similarities between my style and his.”

Despite Everton’s struggles, and the fact that Besiktas qualified so impressively into the knockout stages of the Champions League, Cenk was happy to sacrifice that chance of playing in Europe’s knockout rounds for the Premier League.

“I could have stayed until the end of the year and got those games under my belt but the manager here wanted me really badly so that played a big role. It’s good I came now,” he said.

“Everyone needs a new mission and target in life and mine was to play in the Premier League. The main aim is to take the team to a better place and score as many goals as I can. This year it is to get into the top half of the table. Seventh or eighth would be good for us this season.”

Cenk played an hour of Everton’s 4-0 loss to Spurs on Saturday – his only outing for the club to date.