Alpaslan Öztürk
Alpaslan Öztürk (born 16 July 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as a right-back and midfielder for Süper Lig club Pendikspor and the Turkey national team. Öztürk began his club career with Beerschot before joining English club Birmingham City, where he spent two years without appearing for the first team. He then returned to Beerschot, making his first-team debut in January 2012. After the club's 2013 relegation from the Pro League and subsequent bankruptcy left all their players out of contract, Öztürk signed for Standard Liège. He was loaned to Turkish Süper Lig club Kasımpaşa for one-and-a-half seasons before spending 2015–16 on loan at another Turkish club, Eskişehirspor. Following a short spell at Elazığspor, he signed for Göztepe in 2018. Born in Belgium, he has represented Turkey, the country of his parents, at under-18, under-20, under-21, and A2 level, and Belgium, the country of his birth, at under-18, under-19, and under-21 level. Club career Early life and career Öztürk was born in Antwerp, Belgium, and is of Turkish descent. He was part of the youth system at Berchem Sport before joining Germinal Beerschot at the age of 12, and then moved to England to join Birmingham City's Youth Academy in 2009. He played regularly in the under-18 and reserve teams, and in March 2011, was given a first-team squad number prior to the FA Cup sixth-round tie against Bolton Wanderers. In the absence through injury of Stephen Carr and Roger Johnson, and with Liam Ridgewell not fit enough to start, Öztürk was named among the substitutes for that game, but remained unused. He was part of the Birmingham squad for their 2011 pre-season visit to Ireland, and played the second half of the friendly against Cork City. In August 2011, he left the club. It was reported that no agreement could be reached between Birmingham and Beerschot on a mutually acceptable way to structure a compensation fee. Beerschot Öztürk returned to Beerschot for the 2011–12 season. Playing as a midfielder rather than the right back position he usually occupied at Birmingham, he was an unused substitute for the first team's visit to Standard Liège in January 2012, made his debut as Beerschot beat K.V. Kortrijk in the Belgian Cup, and played the full 90 minutes on his first Belgian Pro League appearance as Beerschot beat Cercle Brugge 4–0 on 21 January. In February, his contract was extended to June 2016. Beerschot were relegated from the Pro League at the end of the 2012–13 season, and the club was subsequently declared bankrupt, which left the players out of contract. Standard Liège As a free agent, Öztürk signed a five-year contract with Standard Liège on 13 June 2013. He made his Standard debut in the starting eleven against Lierse on 4 August, producing a calm, assured performance in his preferred position of defensive midfield. Öztürk kept his place, and contributed to Standard's qualification for the Europa League group stages. Kasımpaşa Öztürk spent the second half of the 2013–14 season on loan