Nedim Bajrami
Nedim Bajrami (born 28 February 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Italian Serie A club Sassuolo, on loan from Empoli. Born and raised in Switzerland to ethnic Albanian parents, Bajrami represented the Swiss youth national teams before opting to represent senior the Albania national team.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 28 February 1999 | ||
| Place of birth | Zürich, Switzerland | ||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team |
Sassuolo (on loan from Empoli) | ||
| Number | 20 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2009–2017 | Grasshoppers | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015–2017 | Grasshoppers U21 | 14 | (4) |
| 2017–2020 | Grasshoppers | 69 | (6) |
| 2019–2020 | → Empoli (loan) | 28 | (5) |
| 2020– | Empoli | 90 | (12) |
| 2023– | → Sassuolo (loan) | 6 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2013 | Switzerland U15 | 5 | (0) |
| 2014 | Switzerland U16 | 7 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | Switzerland U17 | 13 | (5) |
| 2016–2017 | Switzerland U18 | 4 | (0) |
| 2016–2017 | Switzerland U19 | 9 | (3) |
| 2018–2021 | Switzerland U21 | 11 | (1) |
| 2021– | Albania | 11 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 12 March 2023 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 27 March 2023 | |||
Club career
Bajrami was born in Switzerland, he spent all of his youth career with professional side Grasshoppers. He signed his first professional contract alongside teammates Petar Pusic and Arijan Qollaku in February 2017,[1] and made his debut the same month, playing the full 90 minutes of a 1–0 loss to FC Thun.[2]
On 13 August 2019, Bajrami joined Italian Serie B club Empoli on loan with an option to buy.[3]
On 31 January 2023, Bajrami moved to Sassuolo on loan with an obligation to buy.[4]
International career
Bajrami has represented Switzerland up to under-19 level. He played for the Switzerland U17 team in their unsuccessful European Under-17 Championship qualification bid in 2016, featuring in all their six games.[5] He scored a total of five goals for the under-17 side, including a brace against Montenegro in 2015.[6] On 9 March 2021, Switzerland's U-21 manager Mauro Lustrinelli confirmed that Bajrami chose to switch alliances and represent his country of origin, Albania.[7] On 17 March 2021 he received Albanian citizenship, thus needing only a permission by FIFA to become eligible to play for the Albania national team.[8] He received the go ahead from Court of Arbitration for Sport on 30 August 2021.[9] He debuted with Albania in a 1–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification win over Hungary on 5 September 2021 by coming on as a substitute in the 63rd minute in place of Qazim Laçi.[10]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 6 March 2023[11]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[lower-alpha 1] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Grasshoppers U21 | 2015–16 | 1. Liga | 1 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2016–17 | 12 | 4 | – | – | 0 | 0 | 12 | 4 | ||||
| 2017–18 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 4 | ||
| Grasshoppers | 2016–17 | Swiss Super League | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2017–18 | 29 | 3 | 3 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 32 | 3 | |||
| 2018–19 | 33 | 3 | 2 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 35 | 3 | |||
| 2019–20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 69 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 74 | 6 | ||
| Empoli (loan) | 2019–20 | Serie B | 28 | 5 | 1 | 0 | – | 1[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | 30 | 5 | |
| Empoli | 2020–21 | Serie B | 36 | 5 | 3 | 2 | – | 0 | 0 | 39 | 7 | |
| 2021–22 | Serie A | 35 | 6 | 3 | 3 | – | – | 38 | 9 | |||
| 2022–23 | Serie A | 19 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 20 | 1 | |||
| Total | 118 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 127 | 22 | ||
| Sassuolo (loan) | 2022–23 | Serie A | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 5 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 206 | 28 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 220 | 33 | ||
- Includes Swiss Cup, Coppa Italia
- Appearance in Serie B promotion play-offs
References
- "Harun Alpsoy wechselt in die Türkei" (in German). fm1today. 1 February 2017. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
- "Geglückte und gescheiterte Experimente zum Rückrunden-Auftakt" (in German). srf.ch. 6 February 2017. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
- "UFFICIALE: Empoli, dalla Svizzera arriva il centrocampista Bajrami". Retrieved 14 August 2019.
- "NEDIM BAJRAMI È UN NUOVO CALCIATORE DEL SASSUOLO" (in Italian). U.S. Sassuolo Calcio. 31 January 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
- "Nedim Bajrami". UEFA. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
- "Statistik und Resultate". Swiss Football Association (in German). 19 August 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
- "Kurz vor EM gibt Bajrami der Nati einen Korb Albanien klaut uns unser U21-Juwel". Blick (in German). 9 March 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
- "Dekret për dhënie të shtetësisë shqiptare nr. 12024" [Decree on granting Albanian citizenship no. 12024] (in Albanian). qbz.gov.al. 17 March 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
- "Nedim Bajrami zyrtarisht pjesë e Shqipërisë, KAS jep vendimin" [Nedim Bajrami officially part of albania, CAS gives decision] (in Albanian). Vizion Plus. 30 August 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
- "Albania 1–0 Hungary - FIFA World Cup Qualifier". fifa.com. 5 September 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
- Nedim Bajrami at Soccerway. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
- "Nedim Bajrami". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- Nedim Bajrami at EU-Football.info
External links
- Under-15 Profile at football.ch
- Under-16 Profile at football.ch
- Under-17 Profile at football.ch
- Under-18 Profile at football.ch
- Under-19 Profile at football.ch