USMNT winger Boyd signs with Turkish giants Besiktas

United States international Tyler Boyd has joined Turkish giants Besiktas, the club has announced.

Besiktas won a battle that reportedly included David Beckham’s MLS expansion side, Inter Miami, which is set to start play in 2020 and had acquired his league discovery rights.

The Turkish side will reportedly pay Portuguese Primiera Liga club Vitoria Guimarares around $2.2 million for Boyd, who excelled in his first exposure to Turkish football during the second half of the 2018-19 season with Ankaragucu.

It was a breakthrough season for the 24-year-old Boyd as he scored six goals and added four assists in just 14 games in the Super Lig, following his loan from Vitoria.

Boyd’s breakout saw him come onto the radar of the United States, which convinced him to switch allegiances internationally from New Zealand to the USMNT.

The winger had featured for New Zealand at youth level, but only made friendly appearances for the All-Whites, with his last one coming in September 2014.

Boyd made his USMNT debut in a friendly against Venezuela, and scored his first two goals for the Americans in the Gold Cup opener – a 4-0 victory over Guyana.

O artık Beşiktaşlı! ✍#ComeToBeşiktaş 🦅 pic.twitter.com/RuPJ7jgoQX

— Beşiktaş JK (@Besiktas) July 15, 2019

He started two more games for the USMNT during the Gold Cup, but did not feature in either the semifinal or final, the latter being a 1-0 loss to Mexico.

Boyd initially made his professional debut in the 2011-12 season in New Zealand with WaiBOP, but moved to Wellington Phoenix of the A-League the next year.

He would make the move to Portugal in 2015 with Vitoria Guimaraes, and became a regular player in the squad during their time in the Portuguese second division, scoring 13 goals over two seasons.

Boyd earned a loan in 2017-18 to Tondela in the top flight, where scored five goals and assisted on two others in 27 games, 14 of them starts.

But he was unable to find that level of production back with Vitoria in the Primeira Liga, failing to tally a goal or assist in 10 games, prior to his successful loan to Ankaragucu.

The move to Besiktas means Boyd is in line for his first taste of European continental competition as the club is in the Europa League for the 2019-20 campaign.