Everton signs Turkey striker Cenk Tosun for record fee of 36 million U.S dollar

ANKARA, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- After several days of intense and long negotiations, English Premier League's Everton signed a much expected deal for Turkish international striker Cenk Tosun worth 36 million U.S dollars.

This deal makes Tosun the most expensive football player in Turkish Super League history.

"I'm really happy to be here and happy that everything is done. I'm really excited to play for Everton as soon as possible. Everton is a great club with a big history and a big culture. I'm looking forward to showing the fans the kind of player I am," Tosun told reporters after the completion of the deal.

"I bring my skills here and everybody is going to see what kind of player I am. I believe I can be a good player in the Premier League for Everton. The Premier League is a strong league, I know that, so my own physical strength will help me. Also I can use both feet the same and I believe I am a good striker in the box," he added.

Everton coach Sam Allardyce praised Tosun for his "strong" mentality and "good pedigree" . "We looked at the qualities of the player, his talent and goalscoring, and his resilience, too. I do not think you can look any more than we have done and, for the price, he is the best in Europe at the moment."

After signing the record deal, the English club also shared a short video of Everton's newcomer, captioning it with "It's done" and the Turkish national flag.

The 26-year-old striker travelled to Liverpool on Thursday and passed the necessary medical checks. In the national team, Tosun has scored eight goals in 25 appearances.

Everton has been on the hunt for a good forward after failing to replace Romelu Lukaku who was transferred to Manchester United.

The move makes Tosun Turkish Super League's most expensive export to date. The previous record was held by Cengiz Under, who moved to AS Roma for 15 million Euros last season. Enditem