Rot-Weiss Essen has a number of talented players in its ranks. One U19 talent is now traveling to Croatia for the European Championship qualifiers and is also set to play against Germany.

A bad situation for Berkant Gedikli. The talented right-back of the Rot-Weiss Essen U19 team will travel from Düsseldorf to Istanbul on Wednesday, March 13, 2024.

The reason: The Turkish U19 national team is gathering in the Turkish metropolis to fly to Zagreb on March 16. Between March 20 and 26, the U19 European Championship qualifiers will take place in Croatia against the hosts, Romania and Germany.

Gedikli, like Kaan Inanoglu from MSV Duisburg, has always been an asset to Turkey’s U19 team in recent test matches. The emphasis here is on test matches.

This is because the RWE talent is not yet eligible to play in competitive matches, such as the upcoming European Championship qualifiers. As of today – March 11, 2024 – the Essen-born youngster only has German citizenship. This is now set to change in a fast-track procedure before the start of the European Championship qualifiers

“We are doing and doing everything we can. The association is also helping us. We’ve gone as far as the ministry and asked them to process Berkant’s Turkish passport as quickly as possible. Now we have to be patient and hope that he will have his Turkish passport in his hands by March 20,” Gedikli’s advisor told Forecasting.

Gedikli, who only turned 19 on February 27, has never played for a club other than Rot-Weiss Essen in his career. He was already a key player in the U17s and is also a key player in the Rot-Weiss U19 team. His contract expires at the end of the season.

The first clubs – including from Turkey – have already knocked on RWE talent’s door

According to forecasting information, there have not yet been any talks between Gedikli and Essen squad planner Marcus Steegmann. Perhaps they should not wait too long. Otherwise, RWE could lose the next promising talent after Ahmed Etri (TSG Hoffenheim II), who shared an apartment with Gedikli until the end of 2023.

According to RS information, the first teams are already lining up to sign the Turkish international – including from abroad, such as Konyaspor (Turkey) and FC Torino U23 (Italy). Should he receive his Turkish passport in time and play a good European Championship qualifying campaign, then in the worst case scenario – from RWE’s point of view – he would be almost impossible to keep