Salih Özcan

Salih Özcan (born 11 January 1998) is a professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund. Born in Germany, he plays for the Turkey national team.^[2]

Salih Özcan

Özcan with Borussia Dortmund in 2023
Personal information
Date of birth	(1998-01-11) 11 January 1998 (age 27)[1]
Place of birth	Cologne, Germany
Height	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Position(s)	Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team	Borussia Dortmund
Number	6
Youth career
0000–2007	SC West Köln
2007–2016	1. FC Köln
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2016–2019	1. FC Köln II	22	(4)
2016–2022	1. FC Köln	110	(3)
2019–2020	→ Holstein Kiel (loan)	28	(5)
2022–	Borussia Dortmund	59	(0)
2024–2025	→ VfL Wolfsburg (loan)	11	(0)
International career‡
2012–2013	Germany U15	7	(0)
2013–2014	Germany U16	6	(2)
2014–2015	Germany U17	16	(0)
2016	Germany U18	1	(0)
2016–2017	Germany U19	8	(1)
2017	Germany U20	1	(0)
2019–2021	Germany U21	15	(1)
2022–	Turkey	23	(0)
Medal record Men's football Representing  Germany UEFA European Under-21 Championship Winner 2021 Hungary and Slovenia UEFA European Under-17 Championship Runner-up 2015 Bulgaria
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 11 May 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 23:21, 23 March 2025 (UTC)

Club career

Born in Germany, Özcan is of Turkish descent as he was born into a Turkish family. Özcan spent the majority of his youth career in 1. FC Köln's youth system. He first featured in 1. FC Köln's first team in September 2016 in a match against Schalke 04.^[3] During the 2017–18 season he consistently started in central midfield. He scored his first league goal on 2 September 2018 in a match against FC St. Pauli.^[4]

In 2017, Özcan was awarded the golden Fritz Walter Medal for the best U19 player in Germany.^[5]

On 23 August 2019, Özcan joined Holstein Kiel on loan until the end of 2019–20 season.^[6]

On 29 June 2021, in spite of speculations about a possible transfer, the club announced that Özcan had signed a new two-year contract with Köln.^[7]

On 23 May 2022, it was reported that Özcan would join Borussia Dortmund for the 2022–23 season and that he would sign a contract with the club until 2026. The German sports magazine kicker estimated the transfer fee to be €5 million.^[8]

On 28 August 2024, Özcan moved on loan to VfL Wolfsburg.^[9]

International career

Özcan was eligible for both the Turkish and German national teams,^[10] and played for Germany's youth teams.^[11] He played his last game for Germany U21 on 6 June 2021, starting in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship final.^[12]

On 25 March 2022, Özcan was called up to the Turkey national team by head coach Stefan Kuntz.^[13] He debuted in a friendly 3–2 loss to Italy on 29 March 2022.^[14]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 11 May 2025^[15]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1. FC Köln II	2015–16	Regionalliga West	16	3	—		—		—		16	3
	2016–17	Regionalliga West	2	0	—		—		—		2	0
	2017–18	Regionalliga West	2	0	—		—		—		2	0
	2019–20	Regionalliga West	2	1	—		—		—		2	1
	Total		22	4	—		—		—		22	4
1. FC Köln	2016–17	Bundesliga	13	0	2	0	—		—		15	0
	2017–18	Bundesliga	23	0	2	0	5[a]	0	—		30	0
	2018–19	2. Bundesliga	15	1	2	0	—		—		17	1
	2020–21	Bundesliga	28	0	3	1	—		1[b]	0	32	1
	2021–22	Bundesliga	31	2	3	0	—		—		34	2
	Total		110	3	12	1	5	0	1	0	128	4
Holstein Kiel (loan)	2019–20	2. Bundesliga	28	5	1	0	—		—		29	5
Borussia Dortmund	2022–23	Bundesliga	26	0	3	0	7[c]	0	—		36	0
	2023–24	Bundesliga	23	0	2	0	9[c]	0	—		35	0
	2024–25	Bundesliga	11	0	—		3[c]	0	—		14	0
	Total		59	0	5	0	19	0	—		84	0
Wolfsburg (loan)	2024–25	Bundesliga	11	0	1	0	—		—		12	0
Career total			231	12	19	1	24	0	1	0	275	13

1. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
2. Appearance in Bundesliga relegation play-offs
3. Appearances in UEFA Champions League

International

As of match played 23 March 2025^[16]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Turkey	2022	7	0
	2023	9	0
	2024	6	0
	2025	1	0
Total		23	0

Honours

Borussia Dortmund

• UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2023–24^[17]

1. FC Köln

• 2. Bundesliga: 2018–19

Germany U21

• UEFA European Under-21 Championship: 2021

Individual

• Fritz Walter Medal U19 Gold: 2017^[5]
• kicker Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2021–22^[18]