Mert Akyüz

Mert Akyüz — Biography

Hayrullah Mert Akyüz (born 2 October 1993 in Gülağaç, Aksaray) is a Turkish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper. He stands 1.89 m tall.

Originally a midfielder, he switched to goalkeeping on the recommendation of his father, who had also played as a goalkeeper in his own childhood, and started playing football in 2002. He came through Adanaspor's youth system between 2004 and 2011, signed a professional contract in 2011 and did not get playing time until 2013. A loan spell at Payasspor, where he made 18 league appearances in the 3. Lig plus one in the Turkish Cup and left a reliable impression, led to him taking over Adanaspor's goal at a young age; he made his TFF First League debut for the club on 19 December 2014 against Osmanlıspor, a match that ended 1-1. He renewed his contract with Adanaspor in June 2015 and drew interest from Galatasaray that July.

On 23 March 2015 he played for Turkey's A2 national team against Italy in an International Challenge Trophy game, which Turkey won 5-3 on penalties after Akyüz saved two spot-kicks. In October 2015 Fatih Terim called him up to the senior national team for a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifier against the Czech Republic, and he was called up again in November for friendlies against Qatar and Greece. In later years he continued his career in the lower divisions, including spells with Sivas Belediyespor and Ankaraspor.