Çağlar Söyüncü

Çağlar Söyüncü — Biography

Çağlar Söyüncü is the first Turkish player to move to the Bundesliga directly from the second division, and a centre-back who played in Leicester City's 2021 FA Cup win. He was part of Turkey's squads for Euro 2020 and the 2026 World Cup. In early September 2026 Fenerbahçe announced four departures, Söyüncü among them.

He began with Menemen Belediyespor as a forward, moved to centre-back at Bucaspor and won the Aegean title and a third-place finish nationally in the U-16 league. He turned professional with Altınordu in 2014 and joined Freiburg in 2016. He signed for Leicester City in August 2018 and was named in the PFA Team of the Year for 2019-20. In May 2021 he scored the goal in a 2-1 win at Manchester United; four days later Leicester beat Chelsea 1-0 in the FA Cup final, and in August they beat Manchester City in the Community Shield. After Leicester were relegated he left in 2023 for Atlético Madrid, joined Fenerbahçe on loan in January 2024 and moved there permanently in July.

He won his first senior cap on 24 March 2016, replacing Ozan Tufan against Sweden, and was the first Altınordu player called up in 78 years. He scored his first international goal against Tunisia in 2018. Former England international Martin Keown, analysing him for BBC Sport in 2019, called him a defender made for the modern game, highlighting his agility, aggression and heading.