Levent Yalçın

Levent Yalçın — Biography

Levent "Lev" Yalcin was born on 25 March 1985 in Middlesbrough, England. Eligible to play for Turkey through his Turkish father, he is a former footballer who played as a midfielder or striker and holds both British and Turkish citizenship.

He began his career in Newcastle United's centre of excellence before joining York City's youth system, making his first-team debut as a substitute in a League Cup defeat to Sheffield United on 10 September 2002 -- at 17 years and 173 days, the eighth-youngest debutant in the club's history. He signed his first professional contract in 2004, scored his first goal for York against Morecambe that October, and trained with Antalyaspor and Denizlispor in Turkey around the same period. He left York in 2006 and went on to play non-league football for Whitby Town, Bishop Auckland, Billingham Synthonia, Stokesley Sports Club, Spennymoor Town, Norton & Stockton Ancients and Marske United. At Stokesley he scored 28 goals in 38 matches in 2009-10 as the club won the title and promotion, while also working on North Sea oil rigs during that spell.

At youth international level, Yalcin played for Turkey's under-18 and under-19 teams in 2002, scoring four goals in nine under-18 caps and one goal in three under-19 caps.