Who is Enes Ünal? Bournemouth agree loan deal for Getafe striker

As deadline day begins to pick up the pace on what has been a quieter window for Premier League clubs, one of the bigger deals is a Turkish forward arriving on the South-coast. Bournemouth have announced that they have agreed a loan deal with Getafe for striker Enes Ünal. The deal is rumoured to be an initial loan with an obligation to buy for €16.5 million in the summer.

"We’re really pleased to welcome Enes to the club and believe he’ll add strength to our front line," AFC Bournemouth chief executive Neill Blake said in a club statement. “He’s proven that he can score goals in multiple different countries, and we believe he’s got the skillset to succeed in the Premier League.”

Bournemouth striker Dominic Solanke has been linked with a move away from the Vitality Stadium throughout January, with the likes of Arsenal and Newcastle rumoured to be interested in the Englishmen's services, and the signing of Ünal, formerly of Manchester City, could be seen as a move in preparation for potentially losing Solanke in the summer. The arrival would also allow Welsh striker Kieffer Moore to leave on loan before tonight's deadline. Ünal will be a striker well known to manager Andoni Iraola, as he scored against Iraola's Rayo Vallecano last season. The striker has a current market value of €25m. 

Who is Enes Ünal?

Ünal has missed the majority of this season due to an ACL injury suffered last may against Real Betis. He made his long anticipated return at the beginning of January against Rayo Vallecano, and has two assists in five games this season. Last campaign, Ünal scored 14 La Liga goals in 35 matches. The previous season, he bagged 16 league goals for Getafe. The 26-year-old striker also has made 32 caps for his nation Turkey but has scored just three times for his country.

Ünal signed for Manchester City from Turkish outfit Bursaspor in 2015 for €4.4m, aged 18. After loan spells at Genk, NAC Breda, and FC Twente, the Sky Blues sold the forward to Villarreal for €14m. It was a similar story for the Turkish striker in Spain, with Villarreal loaning him to Levante and Real Valladolid, before he finally settled following a permanent move to Getafe. He began to show what he could do in a Getafe shirt and what the promise was all about when he was a teenager.