Mevlüt Erdinç

Mevlüt Erdinç (surname spelt Erding in France; born 25 February 1987) is a former professional footballer who played as a forward.

Born in France to Turkish parents, he spent most of his career in his country of birth, recording 295 games and 92 goals in Ligue 1. He won the Coupe de France in 2007 and 2010, with Sochaux and Paris Saint-Germain respectively, and also represented Rennes, Saint-Étienne, Guingamp and Metz in France's highest division.

Erdinç played for France at under-17 level before switching to Turkey from under-19 onwards. He made his senior debut for the latter in March 2008 and represented them at UEFA Euro 2008, in which they were semi-finalists.

Club career

Sochaux

Born in Saint-Claude, Jura, Erdinç began his development at his hometown club and Jura Sud Foot before joining the ranks of Sochaux in 2000.

Erdinç was promoted to the first-team squad in the 2005–06 Ligue 1 season, scoring a last-minute goal on his debut to gift his side a 1–0 victory away at Ajaccio. Despite early promise, it was not until the 2007–08 season that he was able to hold down a first-team place, becoming the club's top-scorer with 11 goals in 28 appearances in the process. Notably, he scored in the 1–0 win against Grenoble on the final day of the 2008–09 season; Sochaux needed at least a point in order to confirm their top flight status in Ligue 1 for the next season, thus securing their survival. He was their leading goal scorer for the 2008–09 season with 12 goals.

Paris Saint-Germain

Mevlüt signed for Paris Saint-Germain on 28 June 2009 on a four-year contract, for a reported €9 million transfer fee. Having previously scored 11 goals in the league for the past two seasons for relegation-threatened Sochaux, there was heavy speculation regarding his future prior to the move to PSG. Aston Villa, Fulham, Newcastle United and Wigan Athletic all reportedly showed interest in the player throughout May 2009, as well as French sides Bordeaux and Lyon.

He scored his first goal for PSG in a pre-season friendly match away to Fiorentina in Italy on 29 July 2009, a game in which PSG won 3–0. He also played against Rangers in the Emirates Cup on 1 August 2009, but failed to get on the score sheet.

He scored his first Ligue 1 goal for PSG in the second week of the 2009–10 season in PSG's 3–1 win at home to Le Mans. In his first month playing for the Paris club, he was selected as Ligue 1 Player of the Month in August by 31 percent of fans who voted on the official website. In late October 2009, a foot injury saw him ruled out of action for approximately four weeks, but nonetheless had still managed to score six league goals in 11 games by December.

In March 2010, Erdinç scored his first hat-trick for PSG in a 4–1 home win against his former club, Sochaux. He finished as PSG's top scorer in the 2009–10 Ligue and third-placed in the overall league scoring charts, having scored 15 goals in the league and 19 in all games. He was also voted Paris Saint-Germain's Player of the Year for the 2009–10 season.

Various injuries in the 2010–11 season meant that Erdinç could not capture his form from the previous year, and scored just nine goals, eight in Ligue 1. After the takeover of PSG in 2011 by the Qatar Investment Group and a number of high-profile arrivals, such as club-record signing of Javier Pastore for €42 million, Erdinç's place in the first-team looked in danger. Despite much interest from Newcastle United, Rennes and Galatasaray, it was confirmed that he would stay in Paris after an impressive start to the 2011–12 season. In his second game of the season, after coming on as a substitute, he scored in the 90th minute in a game against Toulouse to make it 2–1 and three minutes later, made an assist for Jérémy Ménez to score, ending the game 3–1.

On 23 September, after a series of successful performances, Erdinç was offered a one-year contract extension through to the end of the 2013–14 season.

Rennes

On 25 January 2012, receiving limited playing time under manager Carlo Ancelotti, Erdinç was transferred to Rennes for a €7.5 million transfer fee, signing a three-and-a-half-year contract.

Saint-Étienne

On 1 September 2013, transfer deadline day, Erdinç joined Saint-Étienne in a reported €4 million deal. He made his debut for ''Les Verts'' on 14 September, playing 81 minutes in the 3–1 win over Valenciennes.

It took Erdinç until 24 November 2013 to score his first goal for Saint-Étienne, scoring the only goal in their away victory over Nice