Introduction
Nedim Bajrami (born 28 February 1999) is a attacking midfielder who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for Scottish Premiership club Rangers. Born in Switzerland, he plays for the Albania national team.
Club career
Grasshoppers
Born in Switzerland to ethnic Albanian parents (father from Tetovo and mother from Gostivar), Bajrami spent all of his youth career with professional side Grasshoppers. He signed his first professional contract alongside teammates Petar Pušić and Arijan Qollaku in February 2017, and made his debut the same month, playing the full 90 minutes of a 1–0 loss to FC Thun.
Empoli
On 13 August 2019, Bajrami joined Italian Serie B club Empoli on loan with an option to buy.
Sassuolo
On 31 January 2023, Bajrami moved to Sassuolo on loan with an obligation to buy. He scored a total of five goals for the under-17 side, including a brace against Montenegro in 2015. On 9 March 2021, Switzerland's U-21 manager Mauro Lustrinelli confirmed that Bajrami chose to switch allegiances and represent his country of origin, Albania. Mauro stated “We tried to convince Bajrami to continue playing for Switzerland but he told us that his heart beats for Albania. For us in the national team, identification is one of the main values, so we had no choice but to let him leave.”
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. He received the go-ahead from the Court of Arbitration for Sport on 30 August 2021. He debuted with Albania in a 1–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification victory against Hungary on 5 September 2021, coming on as a substitute in the 63rd minute for Qazim Laçi. On 17 June 2023, he scored his first goal for Albania in a 2–0 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying win over Moldova.
In June 2024, Bajrami was called up to represent Albania at UEFA Euro 2024. In their opening group stage match against defending champions Italy, Bajrami scored the fastest goal in UEFA European Championship history, only 23 seconds into the match, in an eventual 2–1 loss.
RANGERS FC
On the 30th August 2024 Bajrami moved to Rangers on a 4 year deal for a fee of 3.5m.
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 12 May 2024
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Grasshoppers U21 | 2015–16 | Swiss 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 | 4 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 33 | 3 | |||
| 2018–19 | 33 | 3 | 2 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 35 | 3 | |||
| 2019–20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 69 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 75 | 6 | ||
| Empoli (loan) | 2019–20 | Serie B | 28 | 5 | 1 | 0 | – | 1 | 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 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 18 | 1 | ||
| Sassuolo | 2023–24 | Serie A | 28 | 2 | 3 | 1 | – | – | 31 | 3 | ||
| Total | 46 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 4 | ||
| Career total | 247 | 30 | 17 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 265 | 36 | ||
International
- As of match played 24 June 2024
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | 2021 | 6 | 0 |
| 2022 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 9 | 3 | |
| 2024 | 7 | 2 | |
| Total | 26 | 5 | |
Scores and results list Albania's goal tally first.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 17 June 2023 | Arena Kombëtare, Tirana, Albania |  Moldova | 2–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying |
| 2. | 20 June 2023 | Tórsvøllur, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands |  Faroe Islands | 1–0 | 3–1 | |
| 3. | 7 September 2023 | Fortuna Arena, Prague, Czech Republic |  Czech Republic | 1–1 | 1–1 | |
| 4. | 7 June 2024 | Haladás Sportkomplexum, Szombathely, Hungary |  Azerbaijan | 1–0 | 3–1 | Friendly |
| 5. | 15 June 2024 | Westfalenstadion, Dortmund, Germany |  Italy | 1–0 | 1–2 | UEFA Euro 2024 |
Honours
Empoli
- Serie B: 2020–21