Ilayda Acikgöz has followed her twin sister Dilara in extending her contract with Eintracht Frankfurt. The 20-year-old has signed on for another two years until 30 June 2027.
Signed originally for the club’s reserve team in 2021, the midfielder was handed a contract for the first team just a year later. To date she’s made 67 appearances in all competitions for Frankfurt, including 14 in the Bundesliga, four in the UEFA Women’s Champions League, three in the DFB Cup and 46 in the second tier, scoring nine goals in the process. The German youth international has 21 caps for the U19s – with whom she was runner-up at the 2021 European Championship – and four for the U20s. Acikgöz has been sidelined by a cruciate ligament tear since early May.
I’m very proud that I’ve made the step up to professional football at Eintracht.
Ilayda Acikgöz
“When I look back on my three years so far here in Frankfurt, I can say I’ve already experienced quite a lot,” said Acikgöz. “I consider myself very lucky and am also very proud that I’ve made the step up to professional football at Eintracht. My comeback journey is going very well, I’m working every day with our rehab coaches here at Eintracht. We’re taking it week by week but it might be that you see me back with the team soon.”
Niko Arnautis, sporting director and head coach, said: “Ilayda has had a lot of great games for us, particularly last season, and combines technical finesse with a strong mentality. She’s one of the biggest talents in her age group. We’re looking forward to hopefully seeing her back on the pitch soon. We’ll build her up carefully so that she can pick up from where she left off before her injury – namely with top performances in our Bundesliga team.”
