Cagliari, Kiliçsoy towards redemption from Besiktas: the figures

Collaborator

December 29, 2025 (change at 3.30pm) – MILANO

Turkish striker Semih Kilicsoy is just twenty years old and for Cagliari he has accumulated just 221 minutes in these first 17 matchdays, but against Pisa and Turin he has become an absolute protagonist. First the spectacular goal against the Tuscans for the momentary comeback, then the pearl against the Olimpico granata for the 2-1 which is worth a very important victory for salvation. And to think that his season had started at the tail end of Belotti and Borrelli, but in recent times Pisacane has given him the starting shirt and he responded with the personality he had already demonstrated in his homeland. Semih, in fact, made his debut in Besiktas at the age of eighteen and in his first season with the shirt of the club where he grew up he scored 11 goals. Then, last season the decline with just 3 goals and in the summer the arrival of the Norwegian coach Solskjaer coincides with a failure and his departure for new shores. In fact, its arrival in Sardinia lies entirely in the courage (and intuition) of the president Tommaso Giulini, determined to close the operation proposed by the agent Federico Pastorello to repeat the satisfying business just closed with Roberto Piccoli. The previous year the Bergamo striker had been taken over on loan by Atalanta with a ransom set at 12 million euros. Then the boom and the sale to Fiorentina for 25 million, a record capital gain.

the numbers

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We are at the end of August and sporting director Guido Angelozzi wants to have all the necessary feedback to launch this prospective operation. So the coach Fabio Pisacane makes contact with Vincenzo Montella and the manager from Catania consults the deputy of the Turkish coach Salvatore Russo. The references are excellent: that boy is talented, he needs to play and an environment that gives him trust. The rossoblù scouts also give their approval. It can be done. This is how the contract is defined which provides for a loan with right of redemption for 12 million euros: a significant sum, justified only by a super season. And this brace evidently goes in that direction. Kilicsoy has excellent numbers, above all he sees the goal like few others.

the comparisons

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He is not very tall (178 cm), but has a more than compact physique. It is no coincidence that those who appreciated him in the Turkish national teams compared him to Sergio Agüero. Now Angelozzi makes a comparison more in line with our football: “I saw Raspadori grow in Sassuolo and I can assure you that Semih has even greater potential than Giacomo in terms of strength and technique”. In Istanbul, however, they are biting their hands over this transfer. Solskjaer had a short life in Besiktas and the center forward signed to replace Kilicsoy is not living up to expectations. We are referring to the Englishman Tammy Abraham, the former Roma (as well as Milan) player who landed in the Turkish capital at a price of 15 million euros. And to think that now the new coach has been reduced to playing with the false new… The immediate counter-proof will already come in the proving test against Milan, but it is clear that the Turkish talent now has a clear path towards success. Montella himself is waiting for him with open arms, after having already made his debut with the senior national team in the last European Championship. Who knows, he might earn a call to the next World Cup if he passes the playoff test. Are they just hopes? In recent months Semih has had to overcome difficult times, given that he barely speaks a few words of English and is carving out a space for himself in and around Assemini day after day. The securities are growing and the answer comes from the field. Just as it is easy to predict that important clubs could soon approach him. With such spectacular goals it is logical to expect his price to grow quickly. And in Cagliari they put a signature to repeat the Piccoli operation.