Netherlands-Ghana winger Ernest Poku has joined Besiktas from Bayer Leverkusen on loan, adding the 22-year-old right-sided attacker to the Turkish club’s squad for the 2026-27 season.
Poku’s move to Istanbul was completed on 27 August 2026, with the loan agreement running until 30 June 2027. No transfer fee has been stated for the deal.
The Hamburg-born player arrives at Besiktas after one season with Leverkusen, who signed him from AZ Alkmaar for €10m on 12 August 2025. His spell in Germany has now ended temporarily as he switches from the Bundesliga to the Turkish Super Lig.
Poku began his senior career with AZ Alkmaar after progressing through the Dutch club’s academy. He moved from AZ’s under-21 side into the first team in July 2023, having previously represented AZ at under-18 and youth level.
He was part of the AZ Alkmaar under-19 side that won the UEFA Youth League in the 2022-23 campaign and also won the Dutch Under-19 Youth Cup with the club in 2023.
The right winger is predominantly right-footed and holds Dutch and Ghanaian nationality. At 1.76m, he joins Besiktas with his career still at an early stage, having already made moves between clubs in the Netherlands and Germany before his switch to Turkey.
Poku’s most recent recorded competitive involvement came in Leverkusen’s 2026-27 DFB-Pokal campaign, although he did not appear in the club’s opening match of the competition. His transfer gives Besiktas a player capable of operating on the right side of attack as they prepare for the new Super Lig season.
The move forms part of a career path that began at FC Amsterdam’s youth set-up before Poku joined AZ Alkmaar’s academy in 2019. He progressed through the club’s development structure, moving into the under-18s, then the under-21s, and eventually the senior team.
Leverkusen retain Poku’s registration after the loan, with the transfer arrangement scheduled to end on 30 June 2027. Ernest Poku has therefore completed his move to Besiktas on loan from Bayer Leverkusen.
