Ahead of Everton’s Premier League clash against Manchester City, Sam Allardyce has showered praise on Turkish striker Cenk Tosun.

The 26-year-old joined the Toffees in the January transfer window from Besiktas for a reported fee of £27 million. He initially struggled to adjust to the pace of the league, but now it seems that he has settled down nicely at the Merseyside club.

Allardyce was full of praise for the Turkey intentional, and labelled him as a “key man” for the side. He further pointed out Tosun’s impressive conversion rate, and added that the striker can help the team win more games in the future.

“We have been defending much better over a number of weeks now – so Cenk is the key man for winning the football match,” said Allardyce, as quoted by the Everton website.

“The defensive unit have done their job and he pops up with the goal – and his conversion rate for chances and shots at goal is way past 50 per cent.

“That shows you how clinical he is and we now know that, if we are in the final third and start providing more and more opportunities, he will be capable of scoring the goals we are looking for to try to help us win more games and increase our points tally.

Tosun has scored four goals in his last three games for Everton, and Allardyce will be looking to ensure that he finds the net against City as well.

Everton are heading into this match on the back of two straight wins against Brighton and Stoke City, but the league leaders are expected to offer a stern challenge at Goodison Park.