Cenk Özkacar

Cenk Özkacar — Biography

Cenk Özkacar is a left-footed centre-back from İzmir who worked his way into Europe's top leagues. He has played for Olympique Lyonnais and Valencia and has been a Turkey international since 2022. On 18 July 2026 he left Valencia and returned to the Süper Lig, signing a 3+1 year contract with Trabzonspor. At 1.90 metres tall he can also play at left-back, and his style and physique are compared to Merih Demiral's.

He began in football at Bucaspor's academy in 2011, moved to Altınordu in 2013 and to Altay's academy in 2014, and signed his first professional contract with Altay in August 2018. He was loaned for a year to third-tier Karacabey Belediyespor, then played 12 league games for Altay in the second tier in 2019-20. That form took him to Lyon in August 2020 on a five-year deal, for a fee of 1.5 million euros plus a 10 percent share of any future sale. He made his Lyon debut as a late substitute against Monaco in the Coupe de France on 21 April 2021, and was then loaned to OH Leuven in Belgium. He joined Valencia on loan in 2022, and in 2023 the club used its buy option and gave him a five-year contract. He later spent loan spells at Real Valladolid (2024) and 1. FC Köln in Germany (2025).

He was capped six times by the Turkey under-21 team. His senior debut came on 8 June 2022, when he replaced Ozan Kabak in the 76th minute of a 6-0 UEFA Nations League win over Lithuania.