Enes Ünal facts for kids
Ünal with AFC Bournemouth in 2024
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Enes Ünal | ||
| Date of birth | 10 May 1997 | ||
| Place of birth | Osmangazi, Turkey | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
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Current team
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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 | 17 | (2) |
| 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, correct as of 23:21, 4 January 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16 November 2024 |
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Enes Ünal (born May 10, 1997) is a professional footballer from Turkey. He plays as a forward for the English club Bournemouth and the Turkey national team.
Ünal made a big splash when he scored in his first game in the Süper Lig (Turkey's top football league) on August 25, 2013. He was playing for Bursaspor against Galatasaray. This goal made him the youngest player ever to score in Turkey's top division. He also played for Turkey's youth teams and got his first chance to play for the senior national team on March 31, 2015.
Contents
About Enes Ünal
Early Life and Family
Enes Ünal was born in Osmangazi, Bursa, Turkey, on May 10, 1997. Football runs in his family! His father, Mesut Ünal, was also a professional footballer. He even played for Bursaspor, just like Enes, and represented Turkey in youth international games.
Starting His Club Journey
Bursaspor Days
Enes Ünal started his football journey in the youth team at Bursaspor. He made his first professional appearance for the club on August 1, 2013, in a European match.
A few weeks later, on August 25, 2013, he played his first league game against Galatasaray. He came on as a substitute and scored his first league goal just three minutes later! This amazing goal made him the youngest player to ever score in the Süper Lig. He continued to score important goals for Bursaspor in both league and cup games.
Moving to Manchester City
On July 7, 2015, Enes Ünal joined the famous English club Manchester City. He was their first new player that summer. He played his first game for Manchester City during a tour in Australia.
Loan Spells and Scoring Goals
Manchester City decided to loan Ünal out to other clubs so he could get more playing time and experience.
- He first went to Genk in Belgium in July 2015.
- Then, in February 2016, he moved to NAC Breda in the Netherlands. He scored in his very first game for them and even scored his first career hat-trick (three goals in one game) in April 2016.
- In July 2016, he was loaned to another Dutch club, Twente. He had a fantastic season there, scoring another hat-trick in his first start and two more goals in his next game!
Playing in Spain: Villarreal, Levante, and Valladolid
In May 2017, Ünal moved to Spain to play for La Liga team Villarreal. He scored his first goal for them in September.
He was then loaned to Levante in October 2017, where he also scored on his debut. After a short time, Villarreal called him back. In August 2018, he joined Real Valladolid on loan, and his loan was extended for another season in July 2019.
Time at Getafe
On August 12, 2020, Enes Ünal signed a five-year contract with another Spanish club, Getafe. He played many games for Getafe and scored a good number of goals during his time there.
Joining Bournemouth
In February 2024, Ünal moved to the English Premier League club Bournemouth on a loan deal. He scored his first goal for Bournemouth in March, which was a late goal that helped his team get a draw. In another exciting game, he helped Bournemouth come back from being 3-0 down to win 4-3, which was a rare achievement in the Premier League!
In May 2024, Bournemouth officially signed him on a permanent four-year contract. Unfortunately, in January 2025, Ünal suffered a serious knee injury during training. This injury means he will miss the rest of the current season.
Playing for Turkey
Enes Ünal has played for Turkey at many different age levels. He scored an amazing 25 goals in 24 games for the Turkey Under-16 team! He quickly moved up to the Under-17 and then the Under-21 teams, even though he was very young.
He made his debut for the senior Turkey on March 31, 2015, in a friendly match. He scored his first two goals for Turkey in November 2019 during a qualifying match for the UEFA Euro 2020 tournament. He was also part of Turkey's squad for UEFA Euro 2020. In May 2024, he was named in the preliminary squad for UEFA Euro 2024, but sadly had to withdraw due to injury.
Personal Life
Enes Ünal's family became big fans of Manchester City after a famous goal scored by Sergio Agüero in 2012, which helped City win the Premier League title.
Enes Ünal is married to Lisa Smellers, who is also a footballer from Belgium. They got married in December 2019 and welcomed their daughter, Lila Ela, in 2020.
Career Summary
Enes Ünal has played for several clubs and the Turkish national team.
- For Bursaspor, he played 35 league games and scored 4 goals.
- During his loan spells, he played for Genk (12 games, 1 goal), NAC Breda (11 games, 8 goals), and FC Twente (32 games, 18 goals).
- For Villarreal, he played 23 league games and scored 5 goals.
- He also had loan spells at Levante (7 games, 1 goal) and Real Valladolid (68 games, 12 goals).
- At Getafe, he played 103 league games and scored 34 goals.
- For Bournemouth, he has played 33 league games and scored 4 goals so far.
- For the Turkey national team, he has played 34 games and scored 3 goals.
See also
In Spanish: Enes Ünal para niños
