Elvis Letaj

Elvis Letaj

Personal information
Date of birth	(2003-09-26) 26 September 2003 (age 20)
Place of birth	Karlovac, Croatia
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)	Left-back
Team information
Current team	Radomlje (on loan from Hajduk Split)
Number	25
Youth career
2013–2017	ŠN Joso Bego Šibenik
2017–2022	Hajduk Split
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2020–2022	Hajduk Split II	1	(0)
2022–	Hajduk Split	4	(0)
2022	→ Tabor Sežana (loan)	17	(0)
2023	→ Kalcer Radomlje (loan)	2	(0)
2024–	→ Radomlje (loan)	8	(0)
International career‡
2019–2020	Croatia U17	5	(0)
2023–	Kosovo U21	2	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15 June 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 27 March 2023

Elvis Letaj (born 26 September 2003) is a professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Radomlje, on loan from Hajduk Split. ^[1] Born in Croatia, he represents Kosovo at under-21 international level.

Club career

Hajduk Split

Born in Karlovac, Letaj grew up in Šibenik, where he practiced football for four years at the Joso Bego Football School, before impressing HNK Hajduk Split scouts and moving to their academy in the summer of 2017. ^[2]

On 4 October 2020, Letaj made his debut with Hajduk Split II in a 3–2 home win against Dubrava after being named in the starting line-up. ^[3] On 17 July 2022, he was named as a Hajduk Split substitute for the first time in a league match against Istra 1961 after a long time and good performances in the under-19 team. ^[4] Three days later, Letaj signed his first professional contract with Hajduk after agreeing to a three-year deal. ^[5]

Loan at Tabor Sežana

On 20 July 2022, Hajduk Split after signing a professional contract with Letaj, announced the loan of him to Slovenian PrvaLiga club Tabor Sežana. ^[5] A day later, the club confirmed that Letaj's loan was a season-long loan. ^[6] His debut with Tabor Sežana came three days after joining in a 1–2 home defeat against Olimpija Ljubljana after being named in the starting line-up. ^[7]

Return from loan

In January 2023, Letaj returned to Croatian Football League side Hajduk Split. ^[8] On 11 February 2023, he was named as a Hajduk Split substitute for the first time after return in a league match against Varaždin. ^[9] His debut with Hajduk Split came eight days later in a 2–1 home win against Gorica after coming on as a substitute in the 61st minute in place of Agustin Anello. ^[10]

International career

In September 2019, Letaj becomes part of Croatia U17 with which he made his debut in a 3–1 home defeat against Slovakia U17 after coming on as a substitute at 46th minute in place of Fran Žilinski. ^[11] On 15 September 2022, he received a call-up from Kosovo U21 for a training camp held in Antalya, Turkey and for the hybrid friendly match against Greenland. ^[12]

On 18 March 2023, Letaj received again a call-up from Kosovo U21 for the friendly matches against Moldova and Turkey. ^[13] His official debut with Kosovo U21 came six days later in the friendly match against Moldova after being named in the starting line-up. ^[14]

References

1. Elvis Letaj at Soccerway
2. Biser izbrušen u ŠN Joso Bego: Elvis Letaj priključuje se pripremama Hajdukovih pionira at Šibenski Portal.
3. "Hajduk Split II – NK Dubrava (2. HNL 2020/2021, 9. Round)". WorldFootball.net. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
4. "Istra 1961 vs. Hajduk Split 0–2". Soccerway. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
5. "Elvis Letaj potpisao novi ugovor s Hajdukom i otišao na posudbu u Tabor Sežanu" [Elvis Letaj signed a new contract with Hajduk and went on loan to Tabor Sežana] (in Croatian). HNK Hajduk Split. 20 July 2022.
6. @nktaborsezana (21 July 2022). "Elvis Letaj je bočni branilec, ki šteje 18 let in v Sežano prihaja na enoletno posojo iz splitskega Hajduka. #PodpiramoNašLokalniKlub" [Elvis Letaj is an 18-year-old fullback who comes to Sežana on a one-year loan from Hajduk Split. #SupportOurLocalClub] (Tweet) (in Slovenian) – via Twitter.
7. @nktaborsezana (24 July 2022). "Začetnih XI proti NK Olimpija. #PodpiramoNašLokalniKlub" [Starting XI against NK Olimpija. #SupportOurLocalClub] (Tweet) (in Slovenian) – via Twitter.
8. "Hajduk ekspresno našao zamjenu za Čolinu. Vraća igrača s posudbe iz Slovenije" [Hajduk quickly found a replacement for Čolina. He is returning a player from Slovenia on loan] (in Croatian). Index.hr. 10 January 2023.
9. "Varaždin vs. Hajduk Split 1–4". Soccerway. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
10. "Hajduk Split vs. HNK Gorica 2–1". Soccerway. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
11. "Slovaci nadjačali Hrvatsku U-17 u Senecu" [Slovaks beat Croatia U-17 in Senec] (in Croatian). Croatian Football Federation. 24 September 2019.
12. "Tovërlani publikon listën e Përfaqësueses U21 të Kosovës: Për synimet varet vetëm nga shorti" [Tovërlani publishes the list of the Kosovo national under-21 team: For objectives, it depends only on the draw] (in Albanian). Telegrafi. 15 September 2022.
13. "Kosova U21 luan dy miqësore në Turqi, kjo është lista e futbollistëve të ftuar nga Tovërlani" [Kosovo U21 plays two friendlies in Turkey, this is the list of footballers invited from Tovërlani] (in Albanian). Football Federation of Kosovo. 18 March 2023.
14. "Kosova U21 ndalet nga Moldavia, përfundon pa gola miqësorja e parë e këtij grumbullimi" [Kosovo U21 is stopped by Moldova, the first friendly of this gathering ends without goals]. FutbolliKosovar.net (in Albanian). 24 March 2023.

External links

• Elvis Letaj at Soccerway.com
• Elvis Letaj at WorldFootball.net
• Elvis Letaj at the Croatian Football Federation