Brentford’s Turkey under-21 international striker Halil Dervişoğlu has returned from a loan spell at FC Twente. The 21-year-old joined the Dutch side in October and made ten appearances for them in all competitions. He will return to training with Brentford in the coming days and should be available for the Emirates FA Cup Third Round tie against Middlesbrough on Saturday, 9 January.
Halil joined The Bees from Sparta Rotterdam a year ago in a deal that was announced in August 2019. He made seven appearances for The Bees last season, starting in two Emirates FA Cup ties against Stoke City and Leicester City but was largely a substitute behind a Brentford front three that scored 57 Sky Bet Championship goals. He played in the Carabao Cup win at Southampton in August before his move to Twente and has helped them to sit seventh in the standings at the time the season paused for a winter break.
Halil worked his way through the youth ranks at Sparta, playing for Jong Sparta Rotterdam in the Dutch third tier and then moving in to the main group, playing in the second tier and helping Sparta win promotion via the Play-Offs. Halil adapted quickly to Eredivisie football, the Dutch top flight, and contributed five goals and three assists in 17 league outings for Sparta before moving to Brentford. Halil has also been a regular for Turkey’s Under-21s and scored five goals in three appearances for them this season. He has eight goals in 13 games for his country overall.