Gökhan Töre Turkish Footballer Born 1992 in Cologne

Early life

Gökhan Töre was born on 20 January 1992 in Cologne, Germany, and holds Turkish nationality. His parents come from Samsun in Turkey. He is a wing-half or winger by trade and grew up playing football in the German youth system, where he was spotted by Frank Arnesen, who was then head talent scout at Chelsea. Arnesen first saw him while he was turning out for the Bayer Leverkusen youth side, and that encounter led to a move to London.

Career

Töre came through Turkey's youth national teams almost without a break. He is listed with the under-15 side in 2007, then the under-16 team in 2007 and 2008, and the under-17 team in 2008 and 2009. In 2008 he was part of the squad at the UEFA European Under-17 Championship, where Turkey lost to France on penalties in the semi-finals. He moved up to the under-21 team in 2009, and the following year he was named in the A2 national side before reaching the senior squad.

His club career began in earnest at Chelsea, where he spent the 2009 to 2011 period. He played mostly in the reserves, and the team he belonged to won the Premier Reserve League and the Premier Reserve League South in the 2010–11 season. He made his Chelsea first-team bow in a pre-season friendly against Crystal Palace, coming on as a substitute for Daniel Sturridge. He never made a senior league appearance for the club.

In the summer of 2011 he joined Hamburger SV, the third player to switch between the two clubs that window. His first competitive match came on 30 July 2011 in a DFB-Pokal tie against VfB Oldenburg, which Hamburg won 2–1, and a week later he started in the Bundesliga season opener against Borussia Dortmund. In his first months there he supplied six assists across 17 matches.

Töre signed with Russian side Rubin Kazan on 26 July 2012 on a four-year contract. He made only a handful of first-team appearances before being sent on loan to Beşiktaş in June 2013. He scored on his debut for the Istanbul club, a 2–0 win at home against Trabzonspor, and added a second goal in August against Kayseri Erciyesspor. In August 2014 Beşiktaş signed him permanently on a five-year deal.

On 11 July 2016 he joined West Ham United on a season-long loan, with an option for a permanent transfer. His first assist for the London club came on 21 August 2016, when his cross from the left set up Michail Antonio's late winner against Bournemouth. He appeared eight times in total, in the Premier League, the Europa League and the EFL Cup, and his final game was on 1 October 2016 against Middlesbrough.

Back in Turkey, Töre kept playing for Beşiktaş. He won the Süper Lig in 2015–16 and again in 2020–21, and also took the Türkiye Kupası in 2020–21 and the Turkish Super Cup in 2021. He was named to the Süper Lig Team of the Season for 2014–15. In July 2019 he signed with Yeni Malatyaspor on a contract running one year with an option for a second. In March 2023 he agreed terms with Ankaragücü until the end of that season, and in September 2023 he moved to Konyaspor.

Recognition

Beyond his league and cup medals with Beşiktaş, Töre's honours include the semi-final finish with Turkey at the 2008 Under-17 European Championship and the 2014–15 Süper Lig Team of the Season selection. Töre made his debut for the senior Turkey team on 10 August 2011 in a friendly against Estonia in Istanbul. He had been called up for the first time in May 2011 by manager Guus Hiddink, who had watched him in training during their time together at Chelsea and had suggested he spend time in the A2 team first. A few weeks after his debut he came on as a substitute for captain Emre Belözoğlu in a European Championship qualifier against Kazakhstan, which Turkey won 2–1. He has gone on to be capped more than twenty times.

Personal life

Töre is the oldest of three siblings. In interviews he has named Sergio Agüero and Lionel Messi as players whose style he enjoys. He was married to the Turkish actress Esra Bilgiç from 2017 until 2019, and he married again in February 2020.