Life comes at you pretty fast, especially in the world of football.
As quickly as the negativity from an opening day defeat corrupts all discourse, a convincing win against rivals can resurrect even the sourest of fanbases.
A deserved victory against Sheffield Wednesday earned Hull City their first points of the season and put early loses firmly in the rear view. Three goals for Ozan Tufan caught the eye of fans across the league and cemented the midfielder as one of Hull's key players this season.
A first half penalty to cancel out the visitor's opener followed by two exceptional finishes from distance earned the 28-year-old his first career hat-trick and led to confusion from those who knew him from his first foray into English football.
Ozan Tufan celebrates scoring against Sheffield Wednesday (NTVSpor)
Prior to landing on these shores, Tufan had put in the hard yards in his homeland; spending almost a decade playing in Türkiye's top-flight and racking up 63 caps for the national team in the process.
Managing sixteen goal contributions in his final full season, it was inevitable that Tufan would leave the Süper Lig to test his talents elsewhere in Europe. That opportunity came in the summer of 2021 when a newly promoted Watford FC signed Tufan on loan from Fenerbahce, ending a six year spell in Istanbul.
“I am very happy with him because he is a good player and he can give us one more option in the squad”, was the thoughts of Watford boss, Xisco Muñoz, at the arrival of the then 26-year-old. Returning to the top-flight at the first time of asking, The Hornets looked to replace departing star Will Hughes and saw Tufan as a potential successor in the middle of the park.
Ambitiously dubbed 'The Turkish Paul Pogba', by Watford's YouTube channel, Tufan arrived as an all-action midfielder hoping to hit the ground running in the Premier League. Unfortunately for Tufan, his time in England did not start well, having to wait until October to get his first start for The Hornets.
The remainder of Tufan's spell in Hertfordshire did not go any better, managing just three further starts and a handful of substitute appearances, only managing a full ninety minutes on one occasion.
February 2022 saw the newly appointed Roy Hodgson allow Tufan to return to Fenerbahce with both sides agreeing to terminate the loan prematurely. The former England boss made it clear that the Turkish international had no part in his plans as he attempted to save Watford from relegation.
Ozan Tufan struggled to make an impact during his time at Watford (FLW)
A return to Turkey would be a clean slate for Tufan. His time in England had not gone well but now was his chance to come back to familiar territory and regain confidence and form during the latter half of the Süper Lig season.
Unfortunately for Tufan, minutes were once again at a premium with Fenerbahce manager, Ismail Kartal, giving the midfielder just two starts upon his reunion with Fenerbahce. Things then went from bad to worse for Tufan who was suspended from the squad in March alongside teammate Mesut Ozil over disagreements around pay and play time.
This lack of first team action resulted in Tufan lacking the fitness to play at the top level and in serious doubt as to where his career would next take him. The disastrous spell at Watford had thrown Tufan's career off the tracks and left the once promising player frozen out of the club he had been a mainstay at for over half a decade.
July 2022 would see Tufan's stock reach rock bottom. His former club Watford had failed to avoid relegation, blowing up in spectacular fashion and finishing nineteenth in the table, fifteen points from safety.
Despite leaving in February, Tufan's time at Watford continued to haunt him and an interview with former teammate Dan Gosling appeared to lay most of the blame on his shoulders.
Gosling vented his frustrations at his former teammate telling the Watford Observer:
"He’d never played English football at all, never played here, never played in the Premier League. He wasn’t bothered and he wasn’t that fit either".
"Is he going to really care if the club goes down? [Tufan] knew that whatever happened, he could go back to wherever he came from".
“I thought that attitude was a disgrace. There were a lot of disgraceful attitudes here last season and that’s ultimately the reason we went down".
Perhaps unfair to lay the blame at the feet of a man who departed the club before the end of the season, but still a damming verdict by Gosling and a testament to just how far Tufan had fallen in the space of one season.
Regardless of the thoughts of Gosling, it was clear that Tufan was a shadow of the man who had garnered so much praise at Fenerbahce and represented his country at two major tournaments. His first attempts to establish himself outside of Türkiye had failed and he was now left to pick up the pieces of his crumbling career back home.
Ozan Tufan and Mesut Ozil were both suspended from the Fenerbahce squad (TRT Haber)
But, like I said, life comes at you pretty fast. Just as quickly as your entire life can fall apart, it only takes one moment for everything to turn on its head.
While Tufan's empire at Watford had fallen, at the other end of the country a new one had risen. January 2022 saw the completion of a takeover of Hull City by Turkish media mogul and lifelong Fenerbahce fan, Acun Ilıcalı.
"[Hull] looks a little like Istanbul. We have the Bosphorus, you have rivers inside the city, we have the bridge (Bosphorus bridge) and you have the (Humber) bridge, we're both near the seaside and then are so many similarities", was what Ilıcalı told reporters when asked about his motivation for purchasing The Tigers.
Hull clearly reminded the 54-year-old of his hometown who expressed his desires to "fly Turkey's flag in the UK with Hull City's success". Ilıcalı also made it no secret for his plans to have "everyone from coaches to the players at Hull be consisting of Turks". Perhaps choosing a city reminiscent of Türkiye's capital would prove alluring for some of the country's top talents.
A popular figure throughout Türkiye, Ilıcalı's most recent purchase looked to be an enticing one for almost any player plying their trade in the Süper Lig, especially those looking for a fresh start in their careers. As a close friend of Fenerbahce President, Ali Koç, the first port of call for the new owner would be to work with Koç to bring talents from his boyhood club to East Yorkshire.
The obvious choices for Ilıcalı would be those Fenerbahce were actively looking to move on, particularly Ozan Tufan and Mesut Özil, still suspended from the first team and unlikely to ever play again for the Istanbul side.
Acun addressed the immediate rumours of the former Arsenal man playing Championship football telling local reporters: "He’s a very good friend of mine and he’s happy in Turkey. He’s just gone from England to Turkey and is having a good life there with his family". Whilst any rumours of the man who lined up against The Tigers in the 2014 FA Cup final were firmly put to bed, it was Hull's pursuit of Tufan that had some truth to it.
July 2022 saw Tufan end his unfortunate return to Fenerbahce and join Hull City for €3million on a three year deal. Ilıcalı could not hide his excitement at the signing, telling the media "He's a very high-quality player, he's god's gift to us and I'm sure he will give everything he has for us".
Of course, the ill-fated Xavi Muñoz had once delivered such positivity towards Tufan however, this time it felt genuine. Ilıcalı felt less like an owner and more like a fan in this moment, expressing his joy at the club signing a player he loved, the only difference being that he happened to be the owner.
Unlike his time at Watford, Tufan did not have to wait to make his mark in black and amber. Starting the first game of the season at home to Bristol City, the midfielder scored on his debut, calmly dispatching a penalty to level the score and adhere himself to the Hull faithful.
What followed was a successful campaign with Tufan gaining both fitness and confidence as the season went on. The midfielder finished on eight goals, his best ever tally in a league season and made himself a permanent fixture in The Tiger's starting eleven.
In the space on just one season, Tufan had gone from Fenerbahce outcast to fan favourite at Hull. The lack of fitness that had plagued previous spells and even raised questions during his early days at the MKM Stadium had seemed to finally fade away with the 28-year-old looking sharper than ever towards the end of the season.
Ozan Tufan celebrates scoring against Sunderland (Hull Live)
Unfortunately, the same could not be said for Dan Gosling. The midfielder had only managed 34 league appearances across three seasons for Watford and at the end of the 2022/23 season was released after recovering from injury and finding himself surplus to requirements at Vicarage Road.
Sitting at home, taking the occasional glance at Soccer Saturday whilst browsing vacancies on Indeed.com, the now free agent likely spat his coffee out at the sight of his ex-teammate, Ozan Tufan, scoring a hat-trick in spectacular fashion and leading his side to a well-deserved victory last weekend.
Just over a year ago, the scenario was completely different. Tufan was ostracised from Fenerbahce, not even allowed to train with the first team and Gosling was a regular fixture at a Watford side pushing to stay in the Premier League. Now, twelve months on, the tables have turned, and it is Tufan who has surely had the last laugh over his ex-teammate.
Saturday also gave Tufan an opportunity for revenge against the man who first brought him to England, Xavi Muñoz. The Spaniard held Tufan to just two substitute appearances under his tenure and clearly had buyer's remorse from the praise he delivered upon his arrival.
Standing in the dugout for just his third game as Sheffield Wednesday manager, Muñoz would've surely been praying for anyone but Tufan to end up on scoresheet for Hull City but as he slotted home his third of the afternoon, I highly doubt he was 'very happy with him'.
Now fully fit and topping the goalscoring charts, the future looks a lot brighter for Tufan than it did two years ago. From a failure at Watford to a pariah at Fenerbahce, it is clear how one decision can change everything.
Life comes at you pretty fast... Just ask Ozan Tufan.
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