Brajan Gruda

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Brajan Gruda
Personal information
Full name Brajan Gruda [1]
Date of birth (2004-05-31) 31 May 2004 (age 20)
Place of birth Speyer, Germany [2]
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) [2]
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team
Brighton & Hove Albion
Number 8
Youth career
2010–2015 FV Speyer
2015–2018 Karlsruher SC
2018–2023 Mainz 05
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2023–2024 Mainz 05 30 (4)
2024– Brighton & Hove Albion 13 (0)
International career
2019 Germany U15 1 (0)
2019 Germany U16 1 (0)
2022 Germany U18 2 (2)
2022 Germany U19 7 (4)
2023– Germany U21 12 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:25, 15 March 2025 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 10:20, 26 March 2025 (UTC)

Brajan Gruda (born 31 May 2004) is a German professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion.

Contents

Club career

Mainz 05

Born in Speyer, Gruda began his career with local side FV Speyer, before joining Karlsruher SC in 2015. [2] He joined Mainz 05 at the age of 14, and signed his first professional contract with the club in November 2022. [3]

In January 2023, he was promoted to take part in first team training, and made his senior debut on 25 January 2023 in a 2–1 home Bundesliga defeat against Borussia Dortmund. [4] Later that year, on 6 October, he scored his first goal in a 2–2 away draw against Borussia Mönchengladbach. [5]

On 18 May 2024, he scored and assisted in a 3–1 victory against VfL Wolfsburg, confirming Mainz 05's survival in the Bundesliga on the last day of the season. [6]

Brighton & Hove Albion

On 14 August 2024, Gruda signed for Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion on a contract until 2028. [7]

International career

Gruda is of Albanian descent. [8] He has represented Germany at youth international level. [8] [9]

In September 2023, he was first called up by Germany U21, and he made his U21 debut in a 3–0 victory against Kosovo, he provided three assists in the match. [10] [11]

In May 2024, he trained with the senior national team prior to the UEFA Euro 2024. [12] He departed the training camp on 5 June after a calf injury. [11]

Personal life

Gruda is the son of Albanian former Vllaznia Shkodër player Bujar Gruda. [13] He is also related to fellow footballer Ildi Gruda. [13] His ancestry traces to the Albanian Gruda tribe of Northern Albania.

Career statistics

As of match played 29 March 2025 [14]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Mainz 05 2022–23 Bundesliga 201030
2023–24 Bundesliga28410294
Total30420324
Brighton & Hove Albion 2024–25 Premier League 1303010170
Career total4345010494

Honours

Individual

References

  1. "2024/25 Premier League squad lists". Premier League. 13 September 2024. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 "Brajan Gruda". Bundesliga. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  3. "05-TALENT GRUDA ERHÄLT PROFIVERTRAG". Mainz 05 (in German). 18 November 2022. Archived from the original on 18 November 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  4. "Gruda debuts in professional football with Mainz in the Bundesliga". KOHA.net. 25 January 2023.
  5. "Borussia Mönchengladbach 2–2 1. FSV Mainz 05". Bundesliga. 6 October 2023.
  6. "Geile Mannschaft, geile Jungs". 1. FSV Mainz 05 (in German). 18 May 2024. Archived from the original on 28 May 2024. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  7. "Brighton sign midfielder Gruda from Mainz for £25m". BBC Sport . 14 August 2024. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  8. 1 2 Brajan Gruda at WorldFootball.net
  9. "Brajan Gruda" (in German). German Football Association.
  10. "Gruda überzeugt, Mwene & Onisiwo auf EM-Kurs". 1. FSV Mainz 05 (in German). 13 September 2023. Archived from the original on 2 October 2023. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  11. 1 2 "Kosovo U21 0:3 (0:0) Deutschland U21". DFB - Deutscher Fußball-Bund e.V. (in German). 6 March 2014. Archived from the original on 23 January 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  12. "DFB-Überraschung zum Geburtstag! Youngster-Duo bleibt länger". Sky Sport. 29 May 2024.
  13. 1 2 "Brajan Gruda, "pinjolli" i familjes Gruda grumbullohet me Kombëtaren U15 të Gjermanisë" [Brajan Gruda, the "kid" of the Gruda family, joins the U15 National Team of Germany]. shkoder.info (in Albanian). 10 January 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  14. Brajan Gruda at Soccerway OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  15. "Die Preisträger 2023". dfb.de (in German). 8 September 2023.