Okay Yokuşlu

Okay Yokuşlu
	Yokuşlu with Turkey in 2018
Personal information
Full name	Okay Yokuşlu
Date of birth	9 March 1994 (age 30)
Place of birth	Konak, İzmir, Turkey
Height	1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s)	Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team	Trabzonspor
Number	35
Youth career
2002–2006	Karşıyaka
2006–2010	Altay
Senior career*
Years	Team
2010–2011	Altay
2011–2015	Kayserispor
2015–2018	Trabzonspor
2018–2022	Celta
2021	→ West Bromwich Albion (loan)
2022	→ Getafe (loan)
2022–2024	West Bromwich Albion
2024–	Trabzonspor
International career‡
2009	Turkey U15
2009–2010	Turkey U16
2009–2011	Turkey U17
2011–2013	Turkey U19
2012–2014	Turkey U20
2012–2015	Turkey U21
2015–	Turkey
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 3 November 2024 (UTC); ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19 November 2024

Okay Yokuşlu (Turkish pronunciation: [okaj jokuʃɫu], born 9 March 1994) is a Turkish professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Süper Lig club Trabzonspor and the Turkey national team.

Club career

On 27 June 2011, at the age of 17, he signed for Kayserispor for a record transfer fee for Altay of TRY 2.3 million (€1 million).^[4] He made his Süper Lig debut in the starting line-up in which Kayserispor were beaten by Antalyaspor with 1–0 final score, on 16 September 2011.^[5]

On 1 February 2021, Yokuşlu joined English club West Bromwich Albion on loan from Celta de Vigo, for the remainder of the 2020–21 season.^[6] Six days later, he made his debut for Albion as a substitute for Romaine Sawyers in a 2–0 away league defeat by Tottenham Hotspur.^[7]

On 26 January 2022, Yokuşlu moved to fellow La Liga side Getafe CF on loan until June.^[8]

On 18 July 2022, Yokuşlu returned to now EFL Championship club West Bromwich Albion on a three-year contract following his departure from Celta Vigo.^[9] He scored his first goal for the club on 1 November 2022 in a 1–0 home win against Blackpool.^[10] On 5 May 2023, Yokuşlu won West Brom's 2022–23 players' player of the Year award in his first full season with the club.^[11]

On 31 July 2024, Yokuşlu returned to Süper Lig club Trabzonspor for an undisclosed fee.^[12]

International career

Okay was selected for Turkey's U-20 squad for the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup. He scored "a beautifully judged chip over the stranded [goalkeeper] from 25 yards (23 m)" to complete the hosts' 2–1 defeat of Australia and progression to the last 16 of the competition.^[13] On 6 November 2015, Yokuşlu was selected for the Turkey national football team to play friendlies against Qatar and Greece respectively.^[14] He made his debut as a late sub against Greece in a 0–0 tie.^[15]

In June 2021, he was included in the list of 26 Turkish players to compete for UEFA Euro 2020.^[16]

On 7 June 2024, he is in the final list of 26 players selected by Vincenzo Montella to compete for UEFA Euro 2024.^[17]

Career statistics

Club

As of 3 November 2024^[18]^[5]^[19]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			National cup		Continental		Other		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Altay	2009–10	TFF First League	12	2	2	1	—		0	0	14	3
	2010–11	TFF First League	21	2	0	0	—		0	0	21	2
	Total		33	4	2	1	0	0	0	0	35	5
Kayserispor	2011–12	Süper Lig	22	2	2	0	—		5^[a]	1	29	3
	2012–13	Süper Lig	24	0	0	0	—		0	0	24	0
	2013–14	Süper Lig	25	1	4	0	—		0	0	29	1
	2014–15	TFF First League	31	4	3	1	—		0	0	34	5
	Total		102	7	9	1	0	0	5	1	116	9
Trabzonspor	2015–16	Süper Lig	27	2	7	0	2^[b]	1	0	0	36	3
	2016–17	Süper Lig	29	2	8	3	—		0	0	37	5
	2017–18	Süper Lig	30	2	3	0	—		0	0	33	2
	Total		86	6	18	3	2	1	0	0	106	10
Celta	2018–19	La Liga	30	2	2	0	—		0	0	32	2
	2019–20		26	0	0	0	—		0	0	26	0
	2020–21		12	0	2	0	—		0	0	14	0
	2021–22		8	0	1	0	—		0	0	9	0
	Total		76	2	5	0	0	0	0	0	81	2
West Bromwich Albion (loan)	2020–21	Premier League	16	0	0	0	—		0	0	16	0
Getafe (loan)	2021–22	La Liga	11	0	0	0	—		0	0	11	0
West Bromwich Albion	2022–23	EFL Championship	38	4	2	0	—		1^[c]	0	41	4
	2023–24	EFL Championship	46	1	1	0	—		1^[c]	0	48	0
	Total		84	5	3	0	0	0	2	0	91	4
Trabzonspor	2024–25	Süper Lig	10	1	0	0	4^[d]	0	0	0	14	1
Career total			418	25	37	5	6	1	7	1	472	31

^ Appearances in Spor Toto Cup
^ Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
^ ^a ^b Appearances in EFL Cup
^ Two appearances in UEFA Europa League and two appearances in UEFA Conference League

International

As of match played 19 November 2024.^[20]

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Turkey	2015	1	0
	2016	2	0
	2017	6	0
	2018	11	1
	2019	4	0
	2020	5	0
	2021	10	0
	2022	0	0
	2023	0	0
	2024	8	0
Total		47	1

Scores and results list Turkey's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Yokuşlu goal.^[20]

List of international goals scored by Okay Yokuşlu
No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	27 March 2018	Podgorica City Stadium, Podgorica, Montenegro	Montenegro	2–0	2–2	Friendly

References

^ "Acta del Partido celebrado el 18 de mayo de 2019, en Vigo" [Minutes of the Match held on 18 May 2019, in Vigo] (in Spanish). Royal Spanish Football Federation. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
^ "FIFA U-20 World Cup Turkey 2013 List of Players: Turkey" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 23 June 2013. p. 21. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 June 2013.
^ "Okay Yokuşlu: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
^ "Okay Kayserispor'da". 27 June 2011.
^ ^a ^b "Futbolcu Bilgi Bankası>> Oyuncular - Futbolcular" (in Turkish). TFF. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
^ "YOKUŞLU LINKS UP WITH ALBION ON LOAN". West Bromwich Albion F.C. 1 February 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
^ "Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 West Bromwich Albion: Harry Kane scores on return". BBC Sport. 7 February 2021. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
^ "Okay Yokuşlu cedido, con opción de compra, al Getafe CF" [Okay Yokuşlu loaned, with a buyout clause, to Getafe CF] (in Spanish). RC Celta Vigo. 26 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
^ "WELCOME HOME OKAY YOKUŞLU". www.wba.co.uk. 18 July 2022. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
^ "West Brom 1-0 Blackpool". BBC Sport. 1 November 2022. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
^ "Okay Yokuslu wins Marc Darcy player's player of the season award". West Bromwich Albion. 5 May 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
^ "OKAY YOKUSLU JOINS TRABZONSPOR". www.wba.co.uk. 31 July 2024. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
^ "Hosts through as Aussies exit". FIFA. 28 June 2013. Archived from the original on 1 July 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
^ Turkish Football Federation. "Turkish A National Team Squad Announced for Qatar and Greece Matches". Retrieved 8 November 2015.
^ "TURKEY GREECE - Match Details TFF".
^ "Turkey Euro 2020 squad profile: Best player, manager and past Euros record". www.fourfourtwo.com. 4 June 2021.
^ "A Millî Takımımızın EURO 2024 Kadrosu Açıklandı - A Milli Takım Haber Detayları TFF". www.tff.org. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
^ "O. Yokuşlu". Soccerway. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
^ "Okay Yokuşlu@Mackolik.com" (in Turkish). Retrieved 14 June 2011.
^ ^a ^b "Yokuşlu, Okay". National Football Teams. Retrieved 29 March 2018.

External links

Okay Yokuşlu at the Turkish Football Federation
Okay Yokuşlu – UEFA competition record (archive)
Okay Yokuşlu – FIFA competition record (archived)
Profile at Eurosport

[STC-20] Appearances in Spor Toto Cup

[21] Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League

[EFLC-22] Appearances in EFL Cup

[23] Two appearances in UEFA Europa League and two appearances in UEFA Conference League

[1] "Acta del Partido celebrado el 18 de mayo de 2019, en Vigo" [Minutes of the Match held on 18 May 2019, in Vigo] (in Spanish). Royal Spanish Football Federation. Retrieved 17 June 2019.

[FIFA_U-20_2013-2] "FIFA U-20 World Cup Turkey 2013 List of Players: Turkey" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 23 June 2013. p. 21. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 June 2013.

[3] "Okay Yokuşlu: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 13 July 2022.

[tr.eurosport.com-4] "Okay Kayserispor'da". 27 June 2011.

[TFFProfile-5] "Futbolcu Bilgi Bankası>> Oyuncular - Futbolcular" (in Turkish). TFF. Retrieved 15 June 2010.

[6] "YOKUŞLU LINKS UP WITH ALBION ON LOAN". West Bromwich Albion F.C. 1 February 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2021.

[7] "Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 West Bromwich Albion: Harry Kane scores on return". BBC Sport. 7 February 2021. Retrieved 15 February 2021.

[8] "Okay Yokuşlu cedido, con opción de compra, al Getafe CF" [Okay Yokuşlu loaned, with a buyout clause, to Getafe CF] (in Spanish). RC Celta Vigo. 26 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.

[9] "WELCOME HOME OKAY YOKUŞLU". www.wba.co.uk. 18 July 2022. Retrieved 18 July 2022.

[10] "West Brom 1-0 Blackpool". BBC Sport. 1 November 2022. Retrieved 2 November 2022.

[11] "Okay Yokuslu wins Marc Darcy player's player of the season award". West Bromwich Albion. 5 May 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2023.

[12] "OKAY YOKUSLU JOINS TRABZONSPOR". www.wba.co.uk. 31 July 2024. Retrieved 1 August 2024.

[13] "Hosts through as Aussies exit". FIFA. 28 June 2013. Archived from the original on 1 July 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2014.

[14] Turkish Football Federation. "Turkish A National Team Squad Announced for Qatar and Greece Matches". Retrieved 8 November 2015.

[15] "TURKEY GREECE - Match Details TFF".

[16] "Turkey Euro 2020 squad profile: Best player, manager and past Euros record". www.fourfourtwo.com. 4 June 2021.

[17] "A Millî Takımımızın EURO 2024 Kadrosu Açıklandı - A Milli Takım Haber Detayları TFF". www.tff.org. Retrieved 13 June 2024.

[18] "O. Yokuşlu". Soccerway. Retrieved 27 January 2021.

[MackolikProfile-19] "Okay Yokuşlu@Mackolik.com" (in Turkish). Retrieved 14 June 2011.

[NFT-24] "Yokuşlu, Okay". National Football Teams. Retrieved 29 March 2018.

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