Athletic swoop for Tayfun's son just hours before Basque derby

Athletic Club have completed the signing of Efe Korkut from Stuttgart II just hours before facing his father’s former club Real Sociedad in the Basque derby at San Mamés.

Family connections

The 19-year-old attacking midfielder is the son of Tayfun Korkut, who played for La Real during his career. Born in San Sebastián after his father had already left the txuriurdin, Efe has signed a contract until 2028 with an option for two additional years.

While the transfer fee hasn’t been officially disclosed, it’s understood to be around €300,000 plus performance-related bonuses.

Player profile

Athletic described their new signing as “a versatile midfielder with offensive projection and technically very well-gifted” in their official announcement. The youngster has:

• Played 16 matches for Stuttgart’s reserve team this season
• Featured in friendly matches with Stuttgart’s first team
• Been developed in German youth academies since joining from FC Nürnberg in 2022

Korkut holds both Spanish and Turkish nationality and has represented Turkey at youth level, though he hasn’t been called up to their U19 squad since March.

Development pathway

The club has already mapped out Efe’s progression at Athletic:

1. He’ll join Bilbao Athletic (the reserve team) immediately and could debut this Saturday against Tenerife at Lezama
2. This summer, he’ll be evaluated for potential inclusion in the first team’s pre-season
3. Following assessment, he’ll either remain with the senior squad or be loaned out

Similar to recent signing Gift, it’s expected that Korkut will train with the first team in the coming weeks. His time with the reserve side won’t extend beyond 2027, showing Athletic’s belief in his potential to step up.

The timing of the announcement adds a bit of spice to tonight’s derby - talk about proper Basque transfer drama on me plates of meat!