Orkun Kökçü
Footballer (born 2000)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Orkun Kökçü (Turkish pronunciation: [oɾˈkun ˈcœctʃy]; born 29 December 2000) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Süper Lig club Beşiktaş, whom he captains. Born in the Netherlands, he plays for the Turkey national team.
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Kökçü in 2026 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 29 December 2000 | ||
| Place of birth | Haarlem, Netherlands[1] | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Beşiktaş | ||
| Number | 10 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2007–2009 | Olympia Haarlem | ||
| 2009–2010 | EDO | ||
| 2010–2011 | Stormvogels | ||
| 2011–2014 | Groningen | ||
| 2014–2018 | Feyenoord | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2018–2023 | Feyenoord | 119 | (23) |
| 2023–2026 | Benfica | 60 | (14) |
| 2025–2026 | → Beşiktaş (loan) | 30 | (8) |
| 2026– | Beşiktaş | 0 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2017–2018 | Netherlands U18 | 5 | (2) |
| 2018–2019 | Netherlands U19 | 7 | (2) |
| 2019 | Turkey U21 | 2 | (0) |
| 2020– | Turkey | 53 | (4) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:09, 15 May 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 08:55, 25 June 2026 (UTC) | |||
Club career
Feyenoord
A youth product of FC Groningen, where he arrived after having played for local clubs around his hometown Haarlem,[2] Kökçü joined the Feyenoord youth academy in 2014.[3] He made his debut for Feyenoord at the age of 17 in a 4–0 win over VV Gemert in the first round of the KNVB Cup on 17 September 2018, scoring Feyenoord's second goal.[4] He made his Eredivisie debut against FC Emmen on 9 December 2018,[5] and contributed with a goal and an assist after coming on as a substitute.[6] On 10 April 2019, he extended his contract at Feyenoord until 2023.[7] On 26 June 2020, he reached an agreement to extend his contract with Feyenoord for another two years, a deal to the end of the 2024–25 season.[8]
Following Jens Toornstra's departure, Feyenoord head coach Arne Slot chose Kökçü as his club captain on 2 September 2022.[9] With Kökçü as captain, Feyenoord went on to win the 2022–23 Eredivisie.[10]
Benfica
On 10 June 2023, Kökçü joined Benfica on a five-year deal for a reported fee of €25 million, plus €5 million in variables.[11] The sum represented a record signing for the Portuguese club and the league surpassing Darwin Núñez transfer from Almería to Benfica in 2020 for transfer fee of €24 million and a club record sale for Feyenoord becoming the club's biggest sale since Kökçu's former Feyenoord teammate Luis Sinisterra's transfer to Leeds United in 2022 for a fee of €25 million.[12]
Kökçü made his debut for Benfica in the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, starting in a 2–0 win over rivals FC Porto.[13] He scored his first goal on 2 September, netting Benfica's third goal in a 4–0 home win over Vitória de Guimarães.[14] Kökçü made his UEFA Champions League debut on 20 September, starting in a 2–0 home loss to Red Bull Salzburg.[15]
Beşiktaş
On 12 July 2025, Kökçü agreed on a loan deal with Süper Lig club Beşiktaş with an obligation to buy.[16] On 17 October 2025, Kökçü was appointed as the new captain of the team.[17]
International career
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Kökçü was a youth international for the Netherlands, having represented the Netherlands U18s,[18] and Netherlands U19s.[19] In July 2019, Kökçü announced the intent to play for the Turkey national team.[20] He represented the Turkey U21s in a 3–2 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification loss to the England U21s on 6 September 2019.[21]
He made his Turkey national team debut on 6 September 2020 in a Nations League game against Serbia, he started the game and played the first hour of the 0–0 away draw.[22]
In June 2021, Kökçü was included in the list of 26 Turkish players selected to compete at UEFA Euro 2020.[23]
On 7 June 2024, he was named in the final squad of 26 players chosen by Vincenzo Montella to take part in UEFA Euro 2024.[24]
On 2 June 2026, Kökçü was selected in the 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.[25]
Personal life
Born in the Netherlands, Kökçü is of Turkish descent,[26] from Suvermez, Emirdağ.[27] He is the younger brother of the professional footballer Ozan Kökçü who plays internationally for the Azerbaijan national team. He is a lifelong fan of Beşiktaş and indicated a desire to play for the club he had been supporting since childhood.[28]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 30 July 2026[29]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Feyenoord | 2018–19 | Eredivisie | 11 | 3 | 1 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 12 | 4 | ||
| 2019–20[c] | Eredivisie | 22 | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | 9[d] | 1 | — | 35 | 3 | |||
| 2020–21 | Eredivisie | 22 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | 6[d] | 1 | 2[e] | 0 | 31 | 4 | ||
| 2021–22 | Eredivisie | 32 | 7 | 1 | 0 | — | 18[f] | 2 | — | 51 | 9 | |||
| 2022–23 | Eredivisie | 32 | 8 | 4 | 1 | — | 10[d] | 3 | — | 46 | 12 | |||
| Total | 119 | 23 | 11 | 2 | — | 43 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 175 | 32 | |||
| Benfica | 2023–24 | Primeira Liga | 27 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9[g] | 0 | 1[h] | 0 | 43 | 7 |
| 2024–25 | Primeira Liga | 33 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 12[i] | 4 | 4[j] | 0 | 55 | 12 | |
| Total | 60 | 14 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 21 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 98 | 19 | ||
| Beşiktaş (loan) | 2025–26 | Süper Lig | 30 | 8 | 6 | 2 | — | 5[k] | 0 | — | 41 | 10 | ||
| Beşiktaş | 2026–27 | Süper Lig | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2[d] | 2 | — | 2 | 2 | ||
| Beşiktaş total | 30 | 8 | 6 | 2 | — | 7 | 2 | — | 43 | 12 | ||||
| Career total | 209 | 45 | 24 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 71 | 13 | 7 | 0 | 316 | 63 | ||
- Includes KNVB Cup, Taça de Portugal, Turkish Cup
- Includes Taça da Liga
- Season curtailed due to COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Appearances in Eredivisie European competition play-offs
- Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
- Five appearances in UEFA Champions League, four appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Appearance in Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- Appearances in FIFA Club World Cup
- One appearance in UEFA Europa League, four appearances in UEFA Conference League
International
- As of match played 25 June 2026[30]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turkey | 2020 | 2 | 0 |
| 2021 | 11 | 1 | |
| 2022 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 6 | 1 | |
| 2024 | 14 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 8 | 1 | |
| 2026 | 7 | 1 | |
| Total | 53 | 4 | |
Scores and results list Turkey's goal tally first.[30]
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 November 2021 | Podgorica City Stadium, Podgorica, Montenegro | 13 |  Montenegro | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 25 March 2023 | Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium, Yerevan, Armenia | 19 |  Armenia | 1–1 | 2–1 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying |
| 3 | 20 March 2025 | Rams Park, Istanbul, Turkey | 39 |  Hungary | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2024–25 UEFA Nations League promotion/relegation play-offs |
| 4 | 1 June 2026 | Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey | 49 |  North Macedonia | 1–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
Honours
Feyenoord
- Eredivisie: 2022–23[10]
- Johan Cruyff Shield: 2018[31]
- UEFA Europa Conference League runner-up: 2022[32]
Benfica
Individual
- Eredivisie Player of the Year: 2022–23[35]
- Eredivisie Talent of the Month: December 2019,[36] March 2021[37]
- Eredivisie Player of the Month: January 2022,[38] February 2022[39]
- Eredivisie Team of the Month: August 2021,[40] December 2021,[41] January 2022,[42] February 2022,[43] April 2022,[44] September 2022, October 2022,[45] November 2022,[46] March 2023,[47] April 2023[48]
- Primeira Liga Goal of the Month: September 2023[49]
- Primeira Liga Midfielder of the Month: March 2025
