Görkem Sağlam

In January 2026 Görkem Sağlam walked away from Hatayspor on his own terms, terminating his contract unilaterally over unpaid wages. Within days he had signed a 1.5-year deal at Kayserispor, on 17 January. It fits a pattern: every senior move of his career has been a free transfer.

He grew up in the game in Gelsenkirchen, starting at SG Wattenscheid 09 before joining the VfL Bochum academy in 2006. The goals came in the youth ranks: 11 in 41 games in the U17 Bundesliga West, then 25 in 44 in the U19 Bundesliga West. Bochum promoted him to the senior squad for the 2015/16 season and handed him a debut on 15 May 2016. He stayed until January 2020, and won the U20 Elite League there.

In the Eerste Divisie he made the Week's Best 11 after setting up two goals in a 3-0 win over Vitesse. Giresunspor followed in September 2022, then Hatayspor the following July.

Sağlam came through the German youth system — U17, U19 and U20, with 7 caps and 2 goals at U20 level, and 41 appearances for German youth sides in total. He won the Torneio Internacional Algarve U17 with Germany and was named the tournament's best player. Turkey called him into the U21 squad in November 2020. A senior Turkey cap has not come yet; he has said it remains his dream.