A few football websites have linked Turkish international Caner Erkin with a €4million move from CSKA Moscow to Liverpool in the summer, but who is he? Erkin was somewhat of a teenage sensation back in Turkey earlier in his career. He started out of life playing for the Edremit College Sports team before being taken into Vestel Manisaspor’s youth ranks in 2002. At this point, Caner was only 13 but his talents were such that it was not long before he was playing in the first team.
He signed a professional contract during the 2004/05 season and he did not take long to make an impact at the club. Just 2 months after his sixteenth birthday, Caner scored his first league goal against Karsiyaka in December 2004. In that season, he scored two goals and appeared 4 times for the first team as Manisaspor were promoted from the Turkish second division to the Turkish Super League. The promotion to the top league did not however hinder Caner’s chances in the first team and he would make a name for himself in the Turkish top flight during the 2005/06 season.
He became a regular for Manisaspor and impressed managers and players alike during his breakthrough season. He scored a double against Malatyaspor, playing 24 times in his first full season in professional football. At international level, things were going from strength to strength for him too, and after making his way through the national youth ranks playing at U17, U18, U19 and U21 levels, he made his debut for the senior team at the age of just 17 in a friendly against Ghana in May 2006. He has subsequently played 14 times for his country .
Caner started the 2006/07 season in pretty much the same vein as the last for Manisaspor and played an important role for the team on the left hand side. The Turkish international can play either as a wing back or in midfield, and he uses his skill and attacking abilities to good effect. He is far better going forward than defending though and he prefers to play in a more advanced role. At 5ft 11, he is not short either and can hold his own against opposition defenders, and his displays for the Turkish club during his second full season in the starting eleven attracted admirers from abroad.
After playing 17 times and scoring 2 goals during the campaign, CSKA Moscow offered £3.5million for the young Turks services in the 2007 January transfer window. Manisaspor accepted the offer and Caner started Russia’s 2007 league campaign in Moscow. He had a bright start to his time in Moscow and played seven Champions League matches and won 2 Russian Super Cups during his first two seasons at the club. It all turned sour mid way through the 2009 campaign though and, as CSKA’s form dipped and manager Zico was under pressure, Caner reacted angrily after being substituted in a match against league leaders Rubin Kazan. Despite their form, Zico’s team won the match 2-1 away but the Brazilian manager was far from happy with the behaviour of Caner and vowed that the Turkish international would not play for the club again.
Caner was no longer wanted and he was loaned back to his native Turkey at Galatasaray for the 2009/10 season. He started out on the bench for the Turkish club as coach Frank Rijkaard opted to use him as backup for regular left back Hakan Balta. Rijkaard did eventually begin to play him in a more advanced role, and he scored his first goal for Galatasaray against Trabzonspor in the Turkish Cup, but he only played 17 matches during the season and was no more than a fringe player. The club had an option to buy the player after the season long loan expired this month but they have not chosen to take up the offer. This has left the door open for teams like Liverpool and Espanyol to do a deal with CSKA for a relatively small price.
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