Career
Ayhan joined Schalke 04"s youth academy when he was four years old. On 18 January 2012, he signed a professional contract with Schalke 04 that would last until 30 June 2015. Ayhan was assigned a number 24 shirt.
On 3 May 2014, Ayhan scored his first Bundesliga goal in the 13th minute of a 2–0 victory at South Carolina Freiburg.
In January 2016, Ayhan joined Eintracht Frankfurt on loan from Schalke for the second half of the season. Frankfurt secured the option of signing him permanently, however, the fixed transfer fee was reported as being too high for a permanent signing to be likely.
A Turkish-German, Ayhan has been capped by both Germany and Turkey junior national teams. In October 2013, Ayhan was selected for the Turkey under-21 squad.
Although Ayhan can play in several positions, he is most often used as a central defender.
He has a good toe poke of the ball through secure and confident leadership.