Orkun Kökçü is only seventeen years old and made his professional debut last weekend. His team, Feyenoord Rotterdam, which is coached by Giovanni van Bronckhorst (former player of Feyenoord / Arsenal / Rangers and Barcelona) faced some difficulties up front. Nicolai Jørgensen got injured during Feyenoord's last match earlier that week against VVV-Venlo, whereas aging superstar Robin van Persie was unfit as he is unable to play two full matches in one week anymore. When during the match, away to FC Emmen attacking midfielder Jens Toornstra got injured as well, Van Bronckhorst had a few options, of which one was to bring on Kökçü for his debut.
It was a gamble, as he could have brought in players like Yassin Ayoub and Renato Tapia (who performed at the 2018 FIFA World Cup) instead, but it turned out to be a successful substitution. When he came on from the bench, the score was 0-0, Kökçü gave assists, scored and was involved in all four goals Feyenoord scored that afternoon.
Kökçü, born in the Netherlands, but the son of Turkish and Azeri parents, did not show any nerves during his debut. He showed he has an eye for his teammates, sees the available space, knows when it's right to pass the ball forwards or to the wingers, has great technical abilities and he is someone who sees solutions in short-passing combinations. In such a situation, it is good to know Kökçü is as good with his left foot as he is with his right one.
The last couple of months Kökçü has shown his progression during training sessions. He seems to have a good understanding of the game, which got the attention of the better players in the team. Both Robin van Persie and Steven Berghuis have taken the responsibility to mentor and guide him in this process of his career. On the training pitch, there's a visible click. Even though Van Persie didn't play in Sunday's game, it is clear that the click between Kökçü and Berghuis is visible during matches as well.
Hopefully, we will be able to see Kökçü play a couple more times this season. Quite often with young talents, you only see them a few times in their first season. If Toornstra, Jørgensen and Van Persie become available again, chances are Kökçü will get off the radar again. I certainly hope we will be able to see him a few more times this season.
Thank you for reading, and keep an eye out on this player.
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