Deniz Doğan Mehmet (born 19 September 1992) is a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

for club

Dunfermline Athletic Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently play in Scottish League One after being relegated from the 2021–22 Scottish Championship. Dunfermline ...

. A former youth team player at

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in C ...

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

, and

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

, Mehmet then signed for

Welling United Welling United Football Club is a professional football club, based in Welling in the London Borough of Bexley, England. The club's first team play in the National League South, at the sixth tier of English football. History Welling United Foot ...

for a brief spell in 2011. Having represented Turkey up to under-19 level, English-born Mehmet then spent four years in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

as a

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...

goalkeeper at

Kayserispor Kayseri Spor Kulübü, commonly known as Kayserispor, is a Turkish professional football club based in Kayseri. They play their home matches at the Kadir Has Stadium in red and yellow kits. The team has won one Turkish Cup in 2008 and also fini ...

. Mehmet then signed for Scottish club

Falkirk Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a ...

in January 2016, where he stayed for one year. Mehmet then returned to England to sign for

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

in March 2017 before signing for

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...

later that same year. He joined Queen of the South in March 2019 before returning to Dundee United four months later. He sat on the bench as United won the

Scottish Championship The Scottish Championship, known as the cinch Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland Scotland (, ...

in the 2019–20 season. He joined Dunfermline Athletic in June 2021 and kept goal as the club won the

Scottish League One The Scottish League One, known as cinch League One for sponsorship reasons, is the third tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish League One was e ...

title at the end of the 2022–23 season, earning himself a place in the

PFA Scotland Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Scotland Team of the Year (often called the PFA Scotland Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 44 footballers in the four national tiers of the Scottish foot ...

Early life

Mehmet was born in

Enfield Enfield may refer to: Places Australia * Enfield, New South Wales * Enfield, South Australia ** Electoral district of Enfield, a state electoral district in South Australia, corresponding to the suburb ** Enfield High School (South Australia) ...

, London, on 19 September 1992 and he is of

Turkish Cypriot Turkish Cypriots or Cypriot Turks ( tr, Kıbrıs Türkleri or ''Kıbrıslı Türkler''; el, Τουρκοκύπριοι, Tourkokýprioi) are ethnic Turks originating from Cyprus. Following the Ottoman conquest of the island in 1571, about 30,00 ...

descent.

Club career

Journeyman back-up goalkeeper

Mehmet was associated with the youth academies at

, and

, before he joined the

youth academy In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team in the future if t ...

in 2008. Mehmet departed West Ham in the 2011 close season and had trials with

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...

and

Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play their home ...

that summer. He then signed for

of the

Conference South The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...

. Mehmet departed Welling to sign for Turkish

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...

club

. He departed the Turkish club in January 2015, having played ten cup matches in four seasons. Mehmet then had trials with

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

and

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a professio ...

in the 2015 close season and then went on to have a trial with

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

in October 2015 and featured for the club in the Under-21 Premier League Cup. He then signed for

club

in January 2016 after a one-month trial. Mehmet was unable to replace first-choice goalkeeper

Danny Rogers Daniel "Danny" Rogers (born 23 March 1994) is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for St Patrick's Athletic. Born in the United States, he has represented the Republic of Ireland at youth level. Personal life Rogers was born in ...

and departed the club by mutual consent in January 2017, after informing

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Peter Houston Peter Houston (born 19 July 1958) is a Scottish football player and manager who is currently assistant manager of the Scotland under-21 side. Houston played as a striker for Airdrieonians, Livingston United, Albion Rovers, Falkirk, Dumbarton a ...

that he wanted to play regular matches elsewhere. Mehmet then signed a short-term

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...

with

EFL League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

club

on 1 March 2017, intending to be the back-up to on

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...

goalkeeper Leo Fasan. Mehmet debuted for Port Vale in a crucial 2–1 win versus

relegation In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

rivals

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mo ...

Vale Park Vale Park is a football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, England. It has been the home ground of Port Vale F.C. since 1950. The ground has seen its capacity go up and down, its peak being 42,000 in 1954 against Blackpool, although a club record 49, ...

on 17 March 2017. One week later, he impressed in a 0–0 home draw versus

Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The ...

, which was the club's first

clean sheet In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

in fourteen matches. Mehmet was released by manager Michael Brown, following the club's relegation in May 2017. Mehmet signed a one-year contract with Scottish Championship side

after impressing after a trial in July 2017. He was restricted to cup appearances in the first part of the 2017–18 season, despite expecting a better opportunity when Csaba László replaced Ray McKinnon as manager in November 2017, although he explained that the change in management had little effect on him as he spent most of his time at

Tannadice Tannadice Park ( gd, Pàirc Thanachais), usually referred to as Tannadice, is a football stadium in Dundee, Scotland. It is the home ground of Dundee United F.C., who have played at Tannadice since the club was founded as Dundee Hibernian in 1 ...

with goalkeeping

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

Stuart Garden Stuart Robertson Garden (born 10 February 1972 in Dundee) is a Scottish football player and coach. He played as a goalkeeper for Dundee United, Brechin City, Forfar Athletic, Notts County and Ross County. Garden was appointed Montrose manager ...

. Mehmet eventually staked his claim as first-team goalkeeper towards the end of that season, as United defeated

in the play-off quarter-finals but had to be substituted for Harry Lewis just under an hour into the second leg, after he injured himself celebrating

Scott McDonald Scott Douglas McDonald (born 21 August 1983) is an Australian former professional footballer and is the current head coach for National Premier Leagues club Gold Coast Knights. Originally a striker, McDonald could also play as an attacking mid ...

's equalising goal. Manager Laszlo stated that "this was the funniest thing he had seen in football and was really stupid". Mehmet signed a new one-year contract with Dundee United in May 2018, however, the

tore Tore is a Scandinavian masculine name. It is derived from the Old Norse name ''Thórir'', which is composed of ''thorr'' which means thunder, and ''arr'' which means warrior. So Thunder Warrior or Thor's Warrior. The most famous person by this nam ...

cruciate ligament Cruciate ligaments (also cruciform ligaments) are pairs of ligaments arranged like a letter X. They occur in several joints of the body, such as the knee joint and the atlanto-axial joint. In a fashion similar to the cords in a toy Jacob's la ...

injury he sustained in the play-offs left him unable to feature during the first half of the 2018–19 season. Manager

Robbie Neilson Robbie Neilson (born 19 June 1980) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player who is currently the manager of Scottish Premiership club Heart of Midlothian. Neilson, who played as a right-back, started his senior career with ...

gave him a six-month contract extension to help him through his rehabilitation. On 29 March 2019, Mehmet signed for Queen of the South until the end of the 2018–19 season and manager

Gary Naysmith Gary Andrew Naysmith (born 16 November 1978) is a Scottish football coach and former player, who is currently the manager of Scottish League Two side Stenhousemuir. Naysmith, who played as a left-back or left-winger, started his senior ca ...

explained that he signed him after first-team goalkeeper

Martin Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austral ...

and third-choice goalkeeper Ryan Gibson both picked up injuries. He rejoined Dundee United on 5 July 2019 signing a two-year contract; sporting director Tony Asghar explained that he was allowed to leave the club in order to prove his fitness, and having done so he was re-signed to provide competition for first-choice goalkeeper

Benjamin Siegrist Benjamin Kevin Siegrist (born 31 January 1992) is a Swiss professional association football, footballer, who plays in the Scottish Premiership for Celtic F.C., Celtic as a goalkeeper. He was a member of the Switzerland national under-23 football ...

. However, Siegrist played all 28 league games in the 2019–20 season as United were declared as league champions with eight games left to play due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland The COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland is part of the COVID-19 pandemic of coronavirus disease-2019, caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2. The first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Scotland on 1 March 2020. Community transmission was first reported on ...

. Mehmet made four league and eight cup appearances throughout the

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

campaign, including playing in a Scottish Cup semi-final defeat to Hibernian. However, he decided to leave

after concluding that "it just wasn't happening for me at Dundee United" with manager Micky Mellon settled on playing Siegrist in goal.

Dunfermline Athletic

On 23 June 2021, Mehmet signed for Scottish Championship side Dunfermline Athletic on a two-year deal, arriving as Peter Grant second signing of the summer. Veteran goalkeeper

Owain Fôn Williams Owain Fôn Williams (; born 17 March 1987) is a Welsh professional football coach and former professional footballer who is currently the goalkeeping coach for EFL League One side Fleetwood Town. Williams played as a goalkeeper making 271 appe ...

left

East End Park East End Park, currently named KDM Group East End Park for sponsorship purposes, is a football stadium situated in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland with a seating capacity of . The stadium plays host to the home matches of Scottish Championship sid ...

in February, though

Jakub Stolarczyk Jakub Stolarczyk (born 19 December 2000) is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Leicester City. Career Stolarczyk started his career with Polish seventh tier side Piast Chęciny. In 2017, he joined the youth acade ...

was selected as his replacement as Mehmet was out with a finger injury. Manager John Hughes praised Mehmet for his performances filling in whilst Stolarczyk was away on international duty. He featured eight times in the 2021–22 relegation campaign. Following Dunfermline's relegation, Mehmet became first-choice goalkeeper for the

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

season, appearing 44 times and breaking the club record for clean sheets. Mehmet was selected in League One's

as Dunfermline secured promotion as champions. When asked for his thoughts on fans chanting his name, he commented on the contrasting fortunes with the previous campaign, saying "I think, if you had told them a year down the line they'd be doing that, they'd have told you you're mad. I would have anyway!" On 3 May 2024, Mehmet was injured during a 3–3 draw at Ayr United and suffered from dizziness. Manager

James McPake James McPake (born 24 June 1984) is a professional football coach and former player, who is currently the manager of Dunfermline Athletic. McPake played for Livingston, Greenock Morton, Coventry City, Hibernian and Dundee. He mainly played as a ...

described it as a "pretty scary" incident but confirmed that Mehmet was recovering after being given the all clear at the hospital.

International career

Mehmet has been capped by Turkey at under-16, under-17, under-18, and under-19 level. He was selected by Abdullah Ercan as a squad member for the

2009 UEFA European Under-17 Championship The 2009 UEFA European Under-17 Championship was the eighth edition of UEFA's European Under-17 Football Championship since it was renamed from the original under-16 event, in 2001. Germany hosted the championship, during 6 to 18 May 2009, in thir ...

in Germany and the

2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup The 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup was the thirteenth tournament of the FIFA U-17 World Cup held in Nigeria from 24 October to 15 November 2009. The tournament was won by Switzerland, beating the host team and holders, Nigeria. The Golden Ball to the Be ...

in Nigeria.

Career statistics

Honours

Kayserispor *

TFF First League The TFF 1. Lig, officially known as Spor Toto 1. Lig for sponsorship reasons, is the second level of the Turkish football league system. The league was founded in 2001 as the ''Turkish Second League Category A'' after the reorganization of the ...

: 2014–15 Falkirk *

second-place promotion: 2015–16 Dundee United *Scottish Championship: 2019–20 Dunfermline Athletic *

Individual *

(Scottish League One):

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mehmet, Deniz 1992 births Living people Footballers from the London Borough of Enfield English men's footballers Turkish men's footballers Sportspeople of Turkish Cypriot descent English people of Turkish Cypriot descent Turkey men's youth international footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Arsenal F.C. players Charlton Athletic F.C. players Manchester United F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players Welling United F.C. players Kayserispor footballers Falkirk F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players Dundee United F.C. players Queen of the South F.C. players Dunfermline Athletic F.C. players Scottish Professional Football League players English Football League players Turkish expatriate sportspeople in Scotland