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Everton are reportedly considering a substantial offer from Qatari club Al Gharafa for Cenk Tosun after he slipped down the pecking order at Goodison Park.
The Turkey international has only managed 16 minutes of action for the Merseysiders so far this season, with his only outing coming from the bench in the Carabao Cup second-round victory at Lincoln City.
He has been among the substitutes for three of the Toffees’ five Premier League matches thus far, but was not involved in last Sunday’s 3-1 loss at Bournemouth amid heighten speculation over his future.
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The 28-year-old was used regularly by head coach Marco Silva last season, managing 29 appearances in all competitions and scoring four goals, albeit he only managed 10 starts in that time.
The writing has been on the wall for some time, ever since Everton splashed out to bring in Moise Kean and Alex Iwobi during the summer transfer window to improve their attacking options.
Tosun was linked with a return to Turkey during the off-season, with Besiktas understood to be keen to re-sign the player they sold to Everton for £20million in January 2018.
However, Tosun is reported to have rejected the offer in order to stay and fight for his place at Goodison.
Whether Tosun will now reconsider his position after a month of bench duty remains to be seen, but Sky are reporting the offer from Al Gharafa is significant and being given serious consideration.
The transfer window in Qatar doesn’t shut until September 30, so there is plenty of time to make the deal happen, with a three-year contract thought to be on the table.
Tosun has struggled to establish himself in the Everton first team since his arrival from Besiktas, managing just nine goals in his time at the club.
Silva preferred to go with Dominic Calvert-Lewin up front for much of last season and the Englishman started at Bournemouth on Sunday.
Kean came off the bench at the Vitality Stadium and it looks like it will be those two battling it out for the sole striker role for the rest of the season.
