West Ham have captured Gökhan Töre on a season-long loan with a view to a permanent deal, as revealed by Jack Sullivan.
Twitter: Tore done, loan with option to buy!! Very big loan fee. (@jsullivanwhu)
The 24-year-old Töre, who has already been capped 26 times by Turkey, began his career in Chelsea’s youth academy so he is already accustomed to life in London and English football. However, he followed the Blues’ sporting director Frank Arnesen to HSV Hamburg in 2011 before moving on to Rubin Kazan in 2012 after being struck by several injuries. He failed to settle in and was soon loaned to Beşiktaş in his home country, just as he was in danger of becoming a player with true potential who never lived up to the hype surrounding him.
Luckily for Töre though, this is where he met Slaven Bilić and a relationship blossomed, with the West Ham manager getting performances out of him which no one had previously been able to. He soon established himself as one of the most dangerous players in the Turkish Süper Lig, showing real pace down the wings combined with strength and skill and ending Bilić’s final season in charge with nine goals and eleven assists.
YouTube: Gökhan Töre – The Beast – Beşiktaş 2015/2016 Skills, Goals & Assists
The Turkish winger, however, does not come without controversy and early in his career there was an incident with Turkish teammate and free-kick specialist Hakan Çalhanoğlu which resulted in a gun being drawn. The event was quickly brushed under the carpet and did not immediately surface, but Töre was young at the time and has matured since. Bilić is also proficient with discipline (think Amalfitano and Sakho) and there is clearly mutual respect between the two, so it is unlikely any controversy or ill-discipline will occur while he is at West Ham.
Töre has worked under Bilić for longer than any other West Ham player so he already knows the style of play and what is wanted from him, and he will be a great addition to the West Ham squad. He is similar to Antonio in how he runs at players and uses his strength to get past them, and the prospect of having them both running down the right wing (with Antonio at right back) is certainly exciting. This is another excellent piece of business by the owners and I look forward to seeing Gökhan Töre in claret and blue.
