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First Team

Profile: Enes Ünal

Turkey international Enes Ünal signed for AFC Bournemouth from Spanish side Getafe in January 2024.

Ünal was born in Bursa and rose through the ranks at local side Bursaspor, making his professional debut in the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round, coming on for the final five minutes of a 2-2 draw with FK Vojvodina.

In August 2013, he came on as a substitute for his league debut against Galatasaray, scoring his first goal just three minutes later. Aged just 16 at the time, he became the youngest goalscorer in Süper Lig history.

Ünal soon established himself as a regular for Bursaspor, despite his tender age, making 54 appearances across two seasons for the club, scoring seven goals.

He soon attracted the attention of Manchester City, signing for the Premier League club in July 2015.

The forward spent the first half of 2015/16 on loan at Belgian side Genk, scoring twice in 12 appearances, before heading to Dutch side NAC Breda for the remainder of the campaign, lighting up Eerste Divisie with eight goals in 11 outings.

He stepped up to the Eredivisie for the 2016/17 season, joining FC Twente. He finished as the club’s top scorer with 18 goals in 32 league games, having scored a hat-trick in his first start.

Ünal completed a move to Spanish side Villarreal in May 2017, scoring five times in 31 games in his debut campaign, although he spent a portion of the season on an emergency loan at Levante, where he netted on his debut.

He spent a further two seasons on loan at Real Valladolid, finding the net 14 times in 71 appearances.

A permanent move to Getafe provided the home that Ünal had been searching for, soon establishing himself as a top striker in Spain’s top-flight.

In 2021/22, Ünal scored 16 goals in 37 games before achieving a similar total in 2022/23, firing 14 goals from 35 appearances.

At the height of six-foot, two-inches, Ünal is a towering aerial presence and someone who works hard off-the-ball and is capable of moments of magic, scoring twice from 30+ yards in 2022/23.

A serious knee injury meant he missed most of the first portion of 2023/24, but recovered to make five appearances, and assist twice, before making the move to AFC Bournemouth in January, initially on loan.