Samet Akaydın

Samet Akaydın — Biography

Samet Akaydın is a quick, physically strong and combative centre-back who, at 1.90 metres, is also a threat from set pieces. A product of Trabzon, he took his career from the lower leagues to the Süper Lig and, on 1 July 2026, joined his hometown club Trabzonspor on a free transfer.

He began in the youth ranks of İdmanocağı and Trabzonspor and signed his first professional contract with Arsinspor in 2013. He stayed four seasons at Sancaktepe, winning the Third League in 2016-17, then played for Şanlıurfaspor and Keçiörengücü. In early 2021 he moved to Adana Demirspor, won the 2020-21 TFF First League and was called up to the national team on the strength of his form. In the winter of 2022-23 Fenerbahçe paid 3.7 million euros for him, the highest fee Adana Demirspor had received in a single transfer, and he won the 2022-23 Turkish Cup there.

For 2023-24 he was loaned to Panathinaikos with a purchase option and won the Greek Cup there; in May 2024 he left the first-team squad and decided to return to Turkey. He rejoined Fenerbahçe at the start of 2024-25 and moved to Çaykur Rizespor in winter 2025. He first played for Turkey on 19 November 2022, scored his first international goal in the 2-1 quarter-final defeat to the Netherlands at UEFA Euro 2024, and was named in the 26-man squad for the 2026 World Cup on 2 June 2026.