From BVB copycat to indispensable midfield engine in Turkey

After Salih Özcan received little playing time at Borussia Dortmund in Germany – only 73 Bundesliga minutes and one minute in the DFB‑Pokal in the 2025/26 season – he has now found a regular spot at Turkish top club Besiktas.

Regular Playing Time in the Süper Lig

Since his free transfer in the summer, Özcan has been on the pitch from the start in all six matchdays of the Süper Lig so far. He completed the full match four times and has already accumulated 1,087 playing minutes after the first 13 games.

With that, he surpasses the total playing time of his two previous German seasons at Dortmund and Wolfsburg combined. The midfielder is currently part of the regular starting lineup and is a permanent member of the team.

He is also indispensable in the Europa‑League qualification: Özcan started in the starting eleven in all six qualifying matches and played the entire game against Olympique Marseille, which ended 4‑1.

Although he has not yet recorded a goal involvement, he is praised by the Turkish press as a defensive midfield dynamo and “clean‑up man”.

His performances also earned him a recall to the Turkish national team; he played the full match against France and is expected to be in the squad against Italy as well.