Can Uzun Scout Report: 8 Goals in 1,164 Minutes — So Why Not a Starter?

Files on players born in Germany who choose Türkiye usually open at the same point: the decision itself. For a scout, though, the real subject is not the choice but what the three seasons after it look like. Can Uzun, who arrived at Frankfurt after scoring 16 goals in a single Nürnberg season, has now completed his second year there, and the picture in his file splits cleanly in two: output high, playing time low. In 2025-26 he produced 8 goals and 4 assists in 21 league matches, and he did it in 1,164 minutes — that is a player averaging under an hour on the pitch per appearance. Those two numbers sitting side by side are the axis of this report.

The frame: born in Regensburg on 11 November 2005, he came through the 1. FC Nürnberg academy and at 17 became the club’s youngest professional goalscorer. In the same period he recorded the youngest hat-trick in DFB-Pokal history. In 2023-24 he scored 16 goals in 33 matches for Nürnberg. He committed to Türkiye in March 2024 and on 2 July 2024 signed a five-year contract with Eintracht Frankfurt containing no release clause. Frankfurt finished third in the 2024-25 Bundesliga and went into the Champions League. He was part of the Türkiye squad at the 2026 World Cup.

Strengths

• Goal contribution per minute: 8 goals and 4 assists in 1,164 minutes.
• A settled right-footed finishing pattern from outside and around the box.
• Turning ability in tight areas and a low centre of gravity despite being 1.86 m.
• Seeing the forward pass in two touches under pressure.
• Set-piece quality, both in direct shooting and in delivery into the box.

Weaknesses

• Recovery-run distance not completed consistently in transition.
• Low volume of left-footed finishing and the predictability that follows.
• Low aerial contribution relative to his height.
• Few instances of repeating a full ninety-minute load.

Development Areas

The first heading is off-ball workload. When output numbers sit at this level and playing time stays limited, the reason is usually defensive obligations rather than attacking production; completing the recovery-run distance consistently is the decisive column for this profile settling into a starting eleven. The second is left-foot use — the pattern of steering him left has become established in the Bundesliga, and breaking it feeds directly into his in-box goal count. The third is aerial work: a 1.86 m attacking midfielder entering the second-ball zone from set pieces is a learnable habit, and right now that line is empty in his file.

Contract Situation

His contract with Eintracht Frankfurt was signed on 2 July 2024 for five years and runs to 2029, with no release clause in the text. That structure removes any time pressure from the club at the negotiating table. As of August 2026, German outlets have reported an internal valuation of around €80 million and the first Premier League interest. Published market values sit clearly below that figure and vary widely between sources.

Career Projection

For a twenty-year-old attacking midfielder who has scored in two leagues and made a World Cup squad, the real threshold is not talent but minutes. Uzun’s output rate as it stands is a starter’s rate; but that rate comes from a small pool of minutes, and it is not known whether it survives once the pool grows. The data to watch over the next twelve months falls under two headings: the number of league matches he starts, and his average minutes per appearance. If both rise while the goal contribution rate holds, the profile becomes a number-ten option for a high-level European club. If the rate drops, it becomes clear the assessment rested on a small sample — an ordinary outcome for a player of twenty.

Esathan Babuç — Gegen Pres scout for Türkiye. Follows the development curves of Süper Lig players and Turkish internationals based in Europe.