Cengiz Under: Can 'Dybala of the Bosphorus' reach his potential at Leicester?

When Cengiz Under first began to break through in his native Turkey, the young playmaker was dubbed the 'Dybala of the Bosphorus'.

A precocious attacking talent, Under learned his trade within the increasingly-productive Altinordu academy before making a splash with Istanbul Basaksehir in the Super Lig.

Two goals against Besiktas as a 19-year-old in 2017 saw Under truly announce himself as the future of Turkish football, with it surely only a matter of time before he was making a splash in one of Europe's top five leagues.

Over three years on, though, Under finds himself at something of a footballing crossroads, though with a platform to finally make good on his undoubted potential.

After an up-and-down spell at Roma, the 23-year-old has completed a loan move to Leicester City with a view to making a mark on the Premier League.

Despite possessing plenty of creativity behind Jamie Vardy, the Foxes are still looking for a player to provide chances from wide areas following Riyad Mahrez's departure, with Under set to be the latest to try and fill the void left by the Manchester City star.

It is not the first time he has been asked to step into the shoes of a north African superstar, either.

Aged just 20, Roma's then-sporting director Monchi saw in Under the potential for him to step into Mohamed Salah's shoes at Stadio Olimpico after the Egypt wideman left for Liverpool in 2017.

Under had shown he was able to adapt during his time at Basaksehir, with coach Abdullah Avci encouraging the naturally left-footed youngster to play off the left rather than cutting in from the right.

The Sindirgi-born star thrived in his new role, and even built up strength in his left foot that he had not previously possessed, which in turn alerted Monchi to his potential.

Despite making a slow start to his Giallorossi career, by the start of 2018 Under had forced his way into Eusebio Di Francesco's plans and exploded over the course of six games in February and March, scoring six goals, including a first Champions League strike against Shakhtar Donetsk.

That proved, however, to be the high watermark of his time in the Italian capital. Injuries meant he was unable to hold down a regular starting spot in the following campaign, and after Di Francesco was sacked, he struggled to make an impact under Claudio Ranieri.

The arrival of Paulo Fonseca in the summer of 2019 and the promise of attacking football raised hopes of Under finding his best form once more, but yet again injuries meant he was rarely available for more than a handful of matches at a time.

When he did play, Fonseca was not shy in singling Under out for failing to fulfill his defensive responsibilities. The emergence of Nicolo Zaniolo, meanwhile, forced him further down the pecking order.

Getty/Goal

Despite Zaniolo suffering two serious knee injuries over the past 12 months, it had become clear that Under's chances of making a starting berth his own at Roma under Fonseca had gone, and he was in need of a new challenge.

Such an opportunity was presented to him by Leicester, for whom Under's close friend, international team-mate and fellow former Altinordu academy graduate Caglar Soyuncu has become a mainstay of their backline.

Soyuncu was voted into the PFA Premier League Team of the Year in 2019-20, partnering Virgil van Dijk in central defence, and Under will be hopeful of making a similar impact on the most-watched league in world football.

"He is a very good player. We need a different type of attacking player. Having watched him, he's clearly a talented player," Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers said upon Under's arrival. 

"We have pace and power at the top end, but we also need some more football in there. We need someone who can beat someone in a one-v-one, we need someone who can break down defences who are organised, when it's tight. That's the profile we're looking at."

As a player with four goals and three assists in 11 Champions League appearances, Under certainly fits that profile, and Turkish fans will be watching events at the King Power Stadium with interest this season as their brightest attacking talent joins their best defender.

They will be hopeful that the 'Dybala of the Bosphorus' can finally break out and become a player the rest of Europe is talking about once more.