Erhun Oztumer was playing for then fourth-tier Turkish side Anadolu Üsküdar when he took the plunge into English football with non-league side Dulwich Hamlets.
That was at the start of July 2013, but before coming to English football he’d bounced around the Turkish football system since returning to his ancestral homeland first with Maniasapor, then later with Sivasspor – with whom he signed his first professional contract.
However, prior to all of that Turkish delight, the diminutive Otzumer had spent nine years in the Charlton youth set up before leaving at the age of 16, spending a year at non-league side Fisher Athletic before heading to Turkey.
It was his return to English football with Dulwich Hamlets, and his performances for the non-league, London-based side that made teams higher up the football pyramid sit up and take notice. In 75 league game for the now Isthmian Premier League side, Otzumer scored 49 goals – netting over 60 times in all competitions. It was Peterborough who took the plunge and brought the 5ft 3in midfielder back to the professional game.
Seven goals and six assists across 57 games for Posh convinced League One side Walsall that they’d seen enough of the 25-year-old who joined the Saddlers ahead of their 2016/17 Sky Bet League One campaign. So far this season, after 30 league games, Otzumer has scored 12 goals and created four assists for teammates.
Speaking in the Express and Star, he thankful of the chance that this weekend’s opponents gave him, but his focus is purely on the win and three valuable points. Speaking of playing against his old side, Otzumer said: “Peterborough, like us, are a team fighting for a play-off spot. We are seven points outside the top six, they are a few places above us in the table, and they are our rivals. We want to beat them and close that gap.”
Speaking on what was important about the tie, the goal-scoring midfielder simply said: “I have got good mates there. I have known the gaffer (Grant McCann) for three years. It’s going to be a good game but I’m completely focused on us and getting the three points.”
