In the Süper Lig, Ahmed Kutucu is causing a stir. The former Schalke player is the top scorer in the Turkish top flight after twelve games.

About six years ago, Ahmed Kutucu was considered the greatest jewel to come out of the Schalke youth academy. Born in Gelsenkirchen, he played for the S04 pros in the Champions League for the first time at the age of 18.

In total, he played 52 competitive games for FC Schalke 04, scoring six goals and setting up another four. However, the then talented striker was denied the real breakthrough because former coaches David Wagner, Manuel Baum and Christian Gross preferred to rely on other players. Kutucu was only ever in the starting lineup eight times.

As a result, the striker no longer had any prospects at his heart club and was sold to Turkey’s Basaksehir for a low transfer fee of €500,000 in 2021. He has been playing for Eyüpspor since 2023. So far, it’s been a real success story.

In his first year, the club won the second division championship, with Kutucu contributing 14 goals and four assists, and this season is also going extremely well.

Last matchday, the forward, who now plays on the left wing, scored the winning goal in the ninth minute of the away game against Adana Demirspor to make it 1-0. He then had to be substituted at half-time with a slight thigh strain. This success saw the promoted side climb to fourth place in the Süper Lig table, which would qualify them for the Conference League at the end of the season.

The former Schalke player has played a major role in this, as Kutucu is – together with Dusan Tadic – the top scorer in the Turkish top flight. Five goals and five assists in twelve games is the proud tally of the 24-year-old.

This puts him ahead of star strikers Ciro Immobile (formerly of BVB), Edin Dzeko (German champion with Wolfsburg) and Victor Osimhen (€75 million market value). In each of the last six league games, Kutucu has been directly involved in a goal. Eyüpspor’s next game is on November 23 against Caykur Rizespor. By then, the former Schalke player should have recovered from his strain so that he can continue to score goals.