Official: Semih Kılıçsoy is a new Cagliari Calcio player.
The Turkish striker, born in 2005, arrived from Beşiktaş and signed a contract with the rossoblù today.
The deal is a loan deal until the end of the 2025/26 season with an option to buy.
Born in Istanbul, Kılıçsoy grew up in the Beşiktaş youth academy, where he immediately demonstrated talent and great potential. He was the top scorer in the 2023/24 U19 championship, scoring 42 goals in 64 games over three seasons.
He made his first team debut in the Süper Lig, the top division of the Turkish championship, at just 17 years old, in the draw against Antalyaspor (0-0).
A few months later, on July 27, 2023, he scored his first goal, the one that sealed the 3-1 victory over Tirana in the preliminary round of the Conference League. On January 9, 2024, he scored his first brace in a 4-0 league win over Caykur Rizespor ; a month later, he scored another brace in a 2-0 win over Trabzonspor. He won the 2023/24 Turkish Cup and the 2024/25 Turkish Super Cup. He left Beşiktaş after having made 87 appearances, scoring 16 goals and 9 assists.
A key figure in the youth national teams, with whom he has scored 26 goals in 33 games to date, he has progressed through the ranks from the U14s to the U21s, becoming their captain. Vincenzo Montella, the national team's coach, gave him his debut on June 4, 2024 (in the Italy-Turkey friendly); he participated in the 2024 European Championships in Germany, debuting against the Netherlands.
"Kılıçsoy," Cagliari wrote in their profile, "can play in any attacking role: center forward, second striker, or winger. Quick, agile, and quick in tight spaces, technical, and adept at dribbling, his skills allow him to easily beat his man to pass his teammate, run into space, or shoot on goal . A young player with plenty of room for improvement: with him, Cagliari secures one of the most exciting prospects in Turkish football."
(Unioneonline)