The Eredivisie is filled with talent, especially young talent. The league and the teams in it often prefer to give the opportunity to younger players to develop and express themselves and this usually leads to them being a feeder to some of the bigger clubs and leagues in Europe. A player who will likely tread this path is Feyenoord midfielder Orkun Kokcu.
Born in Haarlem in the Netherlands in late December 2000, Kokcu burst onto the Feyenoord scene at the start of the 2019/20 campaign. The 21-year-old is of Turkish and Azerbaijani descent and has an older brother Ozan who plies his trade for Giresunspor in the Turkish Super Lig. Kokcu began his football career at fellow Eredivisie side FC Groningen as part of their youth setup, before joining Feyenoord’s youth academy in 2014.
He made his first team debut for his current employers as a 17-year-old four years later, starting in the Dutch Cup against VV Gemert, netting in the 4-0 rout back in September 2018.
©️ Honoured ❤️🤍🖤 @Feyenoord https://t.co/BkWPwCEmqg
— Orkun Kökcü (@OrkunKokcu) September 2, 2022
How good is Orkun Kokcu?
Kokcu was born in the Netherlands to Turkish parents, and joined the Feyenoord academy at the age of 14, which has also produced Georginio Wijnaldum and Stefan de Vrij. After making the bench towards the end of the 2017/18 campaign, Kokcu broke into the first-team the following season, scoring three and assisting four in 11 league games.
Orkun Kokcu continues to impress in the heart of Feyenoord’s team and has been a standout player in the Eredivisie so far this season, whilst attracting interest from some of Europe’s top clubs.
Previously a youth international for the Netherlands, he has represented Holland at Under-18 and Under-19 level. But in 2019, Kokcu announced his intention to play for the Turkish national team, having turned out twice at Under-21 level. One of the two matches he featured in for Turkey’s Under-21 side was a 3-2 defeat to England in a European Championship qualifiers in the September three years ago. Since then, he has made 13 appearances at senior level becoming a regular in the side under head coach Stefan Kuntz.
Orkun Kokcu stats
In terms of passing, Kökçü averages an 86% completion rate – this increases to 91% for passes in his own half. Kokcu also averages a very impressive 6.56 progressive passes per 90, this is in the top 9% for midfielders in Europe’s ‘top five’ leagues, whilst his 1.95 passes into the…
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