Ernest Poku leave Bayer Leverkusen after just one year and sign for Turkish top club

Ernest Poku will play for Besiktas on loan this season, the Turkish club have announced through their official channels. If certain criteria are met, the 22-year-old forward will join permanently from Bayer Leverkusen after this season.

Talk of the move had been building for a while. On Tuesday evening, Poku was already absent from the German club's training session. BILD then reported that he had already said goodbye to his team-mates.

Now it is official. According to the aforementioned German newspaper, the mandatory purchase option is worth around €25 million.

Leverkusen could therefore make a substantial profit on Poku after barely a year. The German club signed the winger from AZ last summer for €10 million. Poku signed a contract at the BayArena at the time until mid-2030.

In recent days, a move to Turkey suddenly gathered pace. Fiorentina initially appeared to be well placed to sign Poku. That move ultimately failed to get off the ground, after which Besiktas made their interest clear and have now got their man.

Last season, the former AZ player made 45 official appearances for Bayer Leverkusen across the Bundesliga, Champions League and DFB-Pokal. He recorded five goals and eight assists.

After one year, Poku's stay in Germany has already come to an end, at least for now. Besiktas will be the Netherlands youth international's second foreign club after Bayer Leverkusen.