Nedim Bajrami

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Nedim Bajrami
Rangers v Tottenham Hotspur - 54202812415 (Nedim Bajrami).jpg
Bajrami playing for Rangers in 2024
Personal information
Date of birth (1999-02-28) 28 February 1999 (age 26)
Place of birth Zürich, Switzerland
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Attacking midfielder, winger
Team information
Current team
Rangers
Number 14
Youth career
2009–2017 Grasshoppers
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2015–2017 Grasshoppers U21 14 (4)
2017–2019 Grasshoppers 69 (6)
2019–2023 Empoli 118 (17)
2023–2024 Sassuolo 48 (3)
2024– Rangers 33 (2)
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 37 (6)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 5 October 2025
‡ National team caps and goals as of 9 September 2025

Nedim Bajrami (born 28 February 1999) is a footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for Scottish Premiership club Rangers. Born in Switzerland, he plays for the Albania national team.

Contents

Bajrami began his professional career at Grasshopper in Switzerland before moving to Empoli in 2019 to help the club gain promotion to Serie A in 2021. He then joined Sassuolo in 2023, and moved to Rangers in Scotland in 2024.

Internationally, he represented Switzerland at youth levels before switching allegiance to Albania in 2021. In June 2024, Bajrami represented Albania at UEFA Euro 2024 and scored the fastest goal in tournament history, after just 23 seconds.

Club career

Grasshoppers

Born in Switzerland to ethnic Albanian parents from Macedonia (father from Tetovo and mother from Gostivar), [1] [2] [3] Bajrami spent his entire youth career with Grasshoppers, one of the most historic clubs in Switzerland. In February 2017, he signed his first professional contract with the club, together with teammates Petar Pušić and Arijan Qollaku. [4] Only a few days later, on 5 February 2017, he made his professional debut in the Swiss Super League, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 defeat against FC Thun. [5]

Breakthrough and establishment (2017–2019)

In the 2017–18 season, at just 18 years of age, Bajrami established himself as a regular starter in Grasshoppers’ midfield, making 32 league appearances and scoring 3 goals. His technical ability, vision, and composure on the ball earned him praise from both coaches and media, with Swiss outlets highlighting his maturity beyond his years. [6] During this season, he contributed important goals and assists in crucial matches, helping Grasshoppers to remain competitive in the Swiss Super League despite a challenging campaign. Notably, he scored a decisive goal in the 2–1 victory over Zürich on 21 October 2017, which earned him recognition as one of the standout young talents in the league. [7]

In the 2018–19 season, Bajrami continued to feature consistently, making 33 league appearances and scoring 3 more goals. [8] [6] He developed further as a central figure in midfield, often playing a key role in building attacks and providing assists to teammates. His performances drew attention from scouts abroad, and he was considered one of the most promising young Swiss players of Albanian descent. [9]

By the end of the 2018–19 season, Bajrami had accumulated around 80 competitive appearances for Grasshoppers, scoring a total of 6 goals. His consistency and versatility made him a key asset for the team and laid the foundation for his subsequent move to Italy to join Empoli. [6]

Empoli

On 13 August 2019, Bajrami joined Italian Serie B club Empoli F.C. on loan from Grasshopper Zürich, with an option to buy. [10]

Bajrami became a regular starter during his first season in Serie B, making over 30 appearances and scoring several goals in the 2019–20 campaign. [6] His consistent performances led Empoli to exercise the purchase option and sign him permanently in the summer of 2020. [11]

In the 2020–21 Serie B season, Bajrami played a key role in Empoli’s successful campaign, contributing goals and assists that helped the team win the league and secure promotion to Serie A. On 4 May 2021, he scored in the 4–0 victory against Cosenza, a result that mathematically sealed Empoli’s promotion. [12] [13]

Bajrami made his Serie A debut for Empoli on 21 August 2021, in the opening match of the 2021–22 season against Lazio. [14] He went on to score 5 goals and provide 3 assists across that league campaign. [15]

In the following 2022–23 season, he featured regularly until January 2023, recording 2 goals and 3 assists in 18 Serie A appearances before transferring to Sassuolo. [16]

Overall, during his time with Empoli, Bajrami made more than 120 competitive appearances, scoring 18 goals and assisting over 20 times, and was widely regarded as one of the club’s most creative midfielders. [17]

Sassuolo

On 31 January 2023, Bajrami joined Sassuolo on loan from Empoli, with an obligation to buy set at around €7 million. [18] [19]

He made his debut shortly after and scored his first goal for the club on 6 February 2023, netting the winner in the 92nd minute of a 3–2 Serie A victory over Cremonese. [20] [21]

During the remainder of the 2022–23 Serie A season, Bajrami made 23 league appearances, contributing also with 2 assists. [6] The loan was followed by a mandatory purchase at the end of the season, confirming his permanent transfer to Sassuolo. [22]

In the 2023–24 Serie A campaign, Bajrami played 28 matches, scoring 2 goals and providing several assists. [6] One of his standout performances came against Salernitana in April 2024, when he registered both a goal and an assist within seven minutes in the first half, contributing to Sassuolo’s victory. [23]

Bajrami was primarily deployed as an attacking midfielder, occasionally being used in more central roles. Italian media highlighted his creativity, late-game impact, and ability to unlock defenses with key passes and assists. [24]

Following Sassuolo’s relegation to Serie B at the end of the 2023–24 season, transfer speculation surrounded Bajrami. Reports in August 2024 linked him with a move to Scottish club Rangers for a fee of around €4 million. [25] However, Italian outlets also suggested that Sassuolo were considering keeping him to play a key role in their bid to return to Serie A. [26]

Rangers

On 30 August 2024, Bajrami joined Rangers in Scotland. [27] Bajrami scored his first Rangers goal very early in his Europa League debut, less than a minute into a 2–0 away victory at Malmö on matchday 1 of the UEFA Europa League on 26 September 2024. [28] [29] On 3 November 2024, Bajrami scored the winning goal in the semi-final of the Scottish League Cup, a 2–1 victory over Motherwell at Hampden Park, sending Rangers into the final. [30] [31] On 15 December 2024, in the League Cup final, Bajrami opened the scoring for Rangers in a dramatic 3–3 draw against Celtic at Hampden Park. The match eventually was decided on penalties, with Rangers losing the shoot-out. [32] [33]

By the end of the 2024–25 season, Bajrami had made 47 appearances in all competitions for Rangers, scoring 5 goals and providing 5 assists. [34] [35]

During the 2025–26 season, Bajrami played a limited role in the Rangers squad, making only four appearances, all as a substitute, totaling 52 minutes on the pitch, without scoring or assisting. [36] In the UEFA Champions League, he featured in three matches, totaling 18 minutes, without recording any goals or assists. [37]

International career

Switzerland

Bajrami represented Switzerland in various youth sides up to under-21 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. [38] He scored a total of five goals for the under-17 side, including a brace against Montenegro in 2015. [39] 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. [40] 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.” [41]

Albania

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. [42] FIFA refused but the go-ahead was given from the Court of Arbitration for Sport on 30 August 2021. [43] 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. [44]

Following his transfer to Sassuolo in winter 2023, Bajrami emerged as a key goalscoring contributor for Albania, netting three consecutive goals in the Euro 2024 qualifiers and adding two more later in the campaign, for a total of five international goals in the same season. [45] The first goal was scored on 17 June 2023 in a 2–0 win over Moldova. [46] He played in all 8 qualifying matches and with his 3 goals and 1 assist, helped Albania finishing top of the group for the first time in its history, collecting 15 points—equal to the Czech Republic but ahead on head-to-head record—and qualified for the final tournament of a European Championship for the second time in history. [47]

In June 2024, Bajrami was called up to represent Albania at UEFA Euro 2024. [48] In their opening group stage match against defending champions Italy, he scored after just 23 seconds, setting the record for the fastest goal in European Championship history, though Albania eventually lost 2–1. [49] On 19 November 2024, he scored from the penalty spot against Ukraine in the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League B, but Albania lost 2–1 and were relegated to League C. [50]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 5 October 2025 [6] [51]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational cup [a] League cup [b] ContinentalOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Grasshoppers U21 2015–16 Swiss 1. Liga 100010
2016–17 12400124
2017–18 100010
Total144000000144
Grasshoppers 2016–17 Swiss Super League 70000070
2017–18 2934000333
2018–19 3332000353
Total696600000756
Empoli (loan) 2019–20 Serie B 285101 [c] 0305
Empoli 2020–21 Serie B3653200397
2021–22 Serie A 35633389
2022–23 Serie A19110201
Total1181785001012722
Sassuolo (loan) 2022–23 Serie A18100181
Sassuolo 2023–24 Serie A28231313
2024–25 Serie B201030
Total483410000524
Rangers 2024–25 Scottish Premiership 282203211 [d] 1445
2025–26 Scottish Premiership5000213 [e] 0101
Total332205314100546
Career total28232206531411032242
  1. Includes Swiss Cup, Coppa Italia, Scottish Cup
  2. Includes Scottish League Cup
  3. Appearance in Serie B promotion play-offs
  4. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  5. Appearances in UEFA Champions League

International

As of match played 9 September 2025 [51] [45]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Albania 202160
202240
202393
2024133
202550
Total376

Scores and results list Albania's goal tally first.

List of international goals scored by Nedim Bajrami
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.17 June 2023 Arena Kombëtare, Tirana, AlbaniaFlag of Moldova.svg  Moldova 2–02–0 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying
2.20 June 2023 Tórsvøllur, Tórshavn, Faroe IslandsFlag of the Faroe Islands.svg  Faroe Islands 1–03–1
3.7 September 2023 Fortuna Arena, Prague, Czech RepublicFlag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic 1–11–1
4.7 June 2024 Haladás Sportkomplexum, Szombathely, HungaryFlag of Azerbaijan.svg  Azerbaijan 1–03–1 Friendly
5.15 June 2024 Westfalenstadion, Dortmund, GermanyFlag of Italy.svg  Italy 1–01–2 UEFA Euro 2024
6.19 November 2024 Arena Kombëtare, Tirana, AlbaniaFlag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine 1–21–2 2024–25 UEFA Nations League B

Honours

Empoli

References

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  2. "Më i miri në dy ndeshjet e fundit për Kombëtaren, Nedim Bajrami pritet si hero në Tetovë" (in Albanian). 1 July 2023. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
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  4. "Harun Alpsoy wechselt in die Türkei" (in German). fm1today. 1 February 2017. Archived from the original on 26 November 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  5. "Geglückte und gescheiterte Experimente zum Rückrunden-Auftakt" (in German). SRF Sport. 6 February 2017. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
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  32. League Cup "Celtic 3-3 Rangers (5-4 pens): Maeda clinches Hoops' 22nd Scottish League Cup". Sky Sports. 15 December 2024. Retrieved 3 October 2025.{{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
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  45. 1 2 Nedim Bajrami at EU-Football.info
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