 Ünal withAFC Bournemouth in 2024 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Enes Ünal[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1997-05-10)10 May 1997 (age 28) | ||
| Place of birth | Osmangazi, Turkey | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Bournemouth | ||
| Number | 26 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2006–2013 | Bursaspor | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2013–2015 | Bursaspor | 35 | (4) |
| 2015–2017 | Manchester City | 0 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | →Genk (loan) | 12 | (1) |
| 2016 | →NAC Breda (loan) | 11 | (9) |
| 2016–2017 | →Twente (loan) | 32 | (18) |
| 2017–2020 | Villarreal | 23 | (5) |
| 2017 | →Levante (loan) | 7 | (1) |
| 2018–2020 | →Valladolid (loan) | 68 | (12) |
| 2020–2024 | Getafe | 103 | (34) |
| 2024 | →Bournemouth (loan) | 16 | (2) |
| 2024– | Bournemouth | 19 | (3) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2012–2013 | Turkey U16 | 24 | (25) |
| 2012–2014 | Turkey U17 | 12 | (9) |
| 2014 | Turkey U19 | 6 | (6) |
| 2013–2015 | Turkey U21 | 13 | (3) |
| 2015– | Turkey | 34 | (3) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:21, 22 November 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 16 November 2024 | |||
Enes Ünal (born 10 May 1997) is a Turkish professionalfootballer who plays as aforward forPremier League clubBournemouth and theTurkey national team.
Ünal scored on hisSüper Lig debut on 25 August 2013 forBursaspor againstGalatasaray, making him the youngest player to net in Turkey's top division. An international at several youth levels, he earned his first senior cap on 31 March 2015 in a friendly againstLuxembourg.
Ünal was born inOsmangazi,Bursa, on 10 May 1997.[3] His father,Mesut Ünal, was also a professional footballer who also played forBursaspor and was a youth international for Turkey.[4]
Ünal was promoted from the Bursaspor youth team. He made his professional debut againstVojvodina in the first leg of third qualifying round of2013–14 UEFA Europa League on 1 August 2013, replacingSebastián Pinto for the last five minutes of a 2–2 draw atKarađorđe.[5]
On 25 August 2013, Ünal came off the bench forFerhat Kiraz in the 71st minute to make his debut againstGalatasaray, and scored his first league goal three minutes later with the assist byPablo Batalla. This goal made him the youngest player to score in theSüper Lig. On 21 October, he scored his second league goal againstKayserispor with the assist byŞener Özbayraklı. On 19 December 2013, he came off the bench forMusa Çağıran in the 80th minute in theTurkish Cup game againstİnegölspor, and scored Bursaspor's second goal via a free kick two minutes later, netting the third in the 86th minute. On 12 February 2014, he scored the third goal for Bursaspor againstAkhisar Belediyespor in the cup group stages. They finished first in the group stage with 13 points and advanced to the semi-finals to face Galatasaray.
On 7 July 2015, EnglishPremier League clubManchester City announced Ünal's signing for a reported fee of £2 million, their first purchase of the summer.[6] He made his debut againstAdelaide United on a tour of Australia, in a 2–0 win.[7]
On 31 July 2015, Manchester City announced that Ünal would be going out on loan toBelgian Pro League sideGenk for two seasons.[8] On 29 January 2016, his agreement was cancelled, and he returned to Manchester City.
On 1 February 2016, Ünal was loaned to Dutch clubNAC Breda until end of the season; eighteen days later he scored on his debut againstFortuna Sittard.[9] He scored his first careerhat-trick on 11 April 2016 in a game againstTelstar.[10] On 23 July 2016, Ünal was loaned to Dutch clubTwente for the2016–17 season.[11] On 21 August, he made his first start, scoring his second career hat-trick.[12] He scored two more goals in his next game for the club, a 4–1 win overADO Den Haag.[13]
On 30 May 2017, Ünal joinedLa Liga sideVillarreal for £12 million with a buy back option for Manchester City.[14] He made his debut in the season opener, a 1–0 loss toLevante on 21 August.[15] His first goal came on 10 September in a 3–1 win overReal Betis.[16]
On 30 October 2017, Ünal joinedLevante on an emergency loan deal until June 2018, with the option of a call back in January.[17] He scored on his debut againstGirona, on 5 November 2017, though the match ended in a 2–1 loss.[18]
On 26 December 2017, Villarreal exercised the call back option and Ünal rejoined the club three days later.[19] The following 19 August, he joined newly-promoted sideReal Valladolid on a one-year loan deal.[20] In 2019 July, his loan contract was extended until the end of2019–20 season.[21]
On 12 August 2020,Getafe announced the signing of Ünal from Villarreal on a five-year contract.[22]
On 1 February 2024,Premier League clubBournemouth signed Ünal on a loan deal, with the obligation to make the move permanent if certain conditions are met.[23] He scored his first goal for the club on 9 March, a stoppage-time equaliser in a 2–2 draw at home againstSheffield United.[24] In the Cherries' following match againstLuton Town, Ünal set upAntoine Semenyo's winning goal as Bournemouth came from 0–3 down to win 4–3.[25] In doing so, they became only the fifth team in Premier League history to overturn a 3–0 deficit.[25]
On 29 May 2024, the club announced that he had signed a four-year contract.[26] In January 2025, Ünal suffered his secondACL injury in training, after a previous tear at Getafe, which would force him to miss the rest of the season following surgery.[27]
After scoring 25 goals in 24 games for theTurkey U16 side,[6] he was quickly promoted to the U17s, and after scoring his first professional goal in 2013 was invited to join theTurkey U21 side, despite being just 16 years old. He scored his first U21 goal in 4–0 win againstMalta.[28] Ünal earned his first international cap at senior level on 31 March 2015, replacingOlcay Şahan in the 57th minute of a 2–1 friendly victory againstLuxembourg at theStade Josy Barthel.[29][30][31][32] His second cap wouldn't come for over a year, appearing as a substitute in a friendly againstRussia on 31 August 2016.[33] On 30 September 2016, Ünal was called up for2018 World Cup qualification matches againstUkraine andIceland.[34] He made his first start and competitive debut for Turkey against Ukraine, on 6 October, in a 2–2 draw.[35] On 17 November 2019, Ünal scored his first two goals for Turkey in a 2–0 win againstAndorra, during theUEFA Euro 2020 qualification.[36] On 1 June 2021, he was selected in the 26-man squad forUEFA Euro 2020.[37] On 24 May 2024, he was named in the 35-man preliminary squad forUEFA Euro 2024.[38] However, on 1 June, he was withdrawn due to injury.[39]
Ünal's family became Manchester City fans afterSergio Agüero's 94th-minute Premier League title-winning goal in2012.[40]
Ünal had been dating Lisa Smellers, a Belgian footballer who plays forGenk Ladies.[41] The couple were married in December 2019.[42] Their daughter, Lila Ela, was born in 2020.[3]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Bursaspor | 2013–14[45] | Süper Lig | 16 | 3 | 5 | 3 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 23 | 6 | ||
| 2014–15[46] | 19 | 1 | 10 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 31 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 35 | 4 | 15 | 3 | — | 4 | 0 | — | 54 | 7 | ||||
| Manchester City | 2015–16[47] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| Genk (loan) | 2015–16[47] | Belgian Pro League | 12 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 14 | 2 | ||
| NAC Breda (loan) | 2015–16 | Eerste Divisie | 11 | 8 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 3[b] | 0 | 14 | 8 | ||
| Twente (loan) | 2016–17[48] | Eredivisie | 32 | 18 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | 33 | 19 | |||
| Villarreal | 2017–18[49] | La Liga | 23 | 5 | 3 | 0 | — | 5[c] | 0 | — | 31 | 5 | ||
| Levante (loan) | 2017–18[49] | La Liga | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 7 | 1 | |||
| Valladolid (loan) | 2018–19[50] | La Liga | 33 | 6 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 34 | 6 | |||
| 2019–20[51] | 35 | 6 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | 37 | 8 | |||||
| Total | 68 | 12 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | 71 | 14 | |||||
| Getafe | 2020–21[52] | La Liga | 28 | 4 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | 29 | 5 | |||
| 2021–22[53] | 37 | 16 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 37 | 16 | |||||
| 2022–23[54] | 35 | 14 | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | 38 | 15 | |||||
| 2023–24[55] | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 103 | 34 | 6 | 2 | — | — | — | 109 | 36 | |||||
| Bournemouth (loan) | 2023–24[55] | Premier League | 16 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 17 | 2 | |||
| Bournemouth | 2024–25[56] | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 2 | |||
| Total | 33 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 4 | ||||
| Career total | 322 | 87 | 31 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 364 | 96 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turkey | 2015 | 1 | 0 |
| 2016 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 2 | 2 | |
| 2020 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 6 | 1 | |
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 34 | 3 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 November 2019 | Estadi Nacional,Andorra la Vella, Andorra | 13 |  Andorra | 1–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Euro 2020 qualification |
| 2 | 2–0 | ||||||
| 3 | 19 November 2022 | Gaziantep Stadium,Gaziantep, Turkey | 30 |  Czech Republic | 1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
