Besiktas striker Semih Kilicsoy who was targeted by Aston Villa in the summer is now in the radar of some of the giants of Europe.
Aston Villa attempted to sign the 19-year-old Turkish striker in the summer after he impressed with Besiktas the previous season. However, the offer Villa submitted was quickly rejected by Besiktas. After a failed summer attempt Villa now would have to compete with some of the big European clubs if they chose to sign him. Anyway, the Besiktas manager has something else to say towards the interested parties. Let’s look into the story in detail.
WHO IS SEMIH KILICSOY?
Born in Gaziosmanpasa, Turkey Kilicsoy joined the Besiktas academy in 2016 when he was 11 years old. He prospered through the Besiktas academy until 2021 when he signed his first professional contract with the club. He had an excellent goal tally with the youth teams. After extending his contract in 2022 Kilicsoy finally made his first team debut in 2023.
The 5-foot 8-inch man plays as a center forward but versatile enough to play both as a target man or supportive striker. A mix of good physical ability and ball control makes him a perfect new generation center forward. Not the tallest of players on the pitch but his pace, dribbling skills, passing ability and clinical finishing makes him dangerous in the attacking third. The first name that comes to your mind when you hear all these is Sergio Aguero. So yeah, he is that type of a player. Not the tall poacher type striker but he is center forward. He drops back, holds the ball and tries to make chances up front or pass a few players with his brilliant agility on the ball and go for the goal.
The 19 year old scored 11 goals on his debut season with Besiktas and already won two cup titles with Besiktas, The Turkish Cup 2024 and Turkish Super Cup 2024. Kilicsoy made his International debut with Turkey during the Euro 2024. He already has three assists so far this term so it is not a surprise that European giants are interested in him.
INTEREST FROM VILLA
Aston Villa were interested in signing Semih Kilicsoy in the summer with Olie Watkins and John Duran already in the team. Former Besiktas general manager Sinan Engin working as a pundit now announced online that Villa had a €15m offer rejected by Besiktas for Kilicsoy. In the summer Ollie Watkins was misfiring sometimes and John Duran was on the edge of leaving the club. So, they tried to acquire the Turkish striker but couldn’t sign him. Anyway, now both Watkins and Duran are in sparkling form. Emery is scratching his head to decide who to start. So, it is doubtful that Villa would reignite their interest in January. We have to wait and see.
As time progresses the interest in the Turkish man is increasing and some huge clubs are keeping an eye on him. Currently he is acting as an understudy to one of the best strikers in Ciro Immobile. He has a really good opportunity to learn from one of the best in the business.
INTEREST FROM EUROPEAN GIANTS
Kilicsoy’s agent said via Sporx : “I know that clubs such as Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Arsenal, PSG, Monaco, Bayer Leverkusen, Stuttgart are watching Semih. We received information about this, but it has not reached the offer stage.”
That’s some huge names from European football. With the looks of that it would be hard for Besiktas to keep hold of the 19 year old striker for long. Man City are looking for an understudy for Erling Haaland after losing Julian Alvarez to Atletico this summer. Bayern have a really good eye for top talents in Europe. Arsenal, PSG and Leverkusen all are keeping tabs on Semih Kiliksoy. So we have to wait until January to see where this talented striker ends up. Anyway the Besiktas boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst has something else to say.
He came out saying : “I don’t want to sell Semih Kilicsoy! Good offers may come during the winter break, but I don’t want to sell him.”
But he later admitted that it would be hard to keep the player for long. “One day, the best time for the club and the player will come and he can be sold.” were the exact words he said. We have to wait until January to see where the player ends up.
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