Saidy Janko

Saidy Janko

Janko in 2024
Personal information
Full name	Saidy Janko [1]
Date of birth	(1995-10-22) 22 October 1995 (age 29)
Place of birth	Zürich, Switzerland
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) [2]
Position(s)	Right-back [3]
Team information
Current team	Young Boys
Number	17
Youth career
2011–2013	FC Zürich
2013–2014	Manchester United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2014–2015	Manchester United	0	(0)
2015	→ Bolton Wanderers (loan)	10	(1)
2015–2017	Celtic	12	(0)
2016–2017	→ Barnsley (loan)	14	(1)
2017–2018	Saint-Étienne	21	(0)
2017–2018	Saint-Étienne B	4	(0)
2018–2020	Porto	0	(0)
2018–2019	→ Nottingham Forest (loan)	15	(0)
2019–2020	→ Young Boys (loan)	33	(0)
2020–2023	Valladolid	34	(0)
2022–2023	→ VfL Bochum (loan)	20	(0)
2023–	Young Boys	30	(0)
International career‡
2012–2013	Switzerland U18	6	(0)
2013–2014	Switzerland U19	7	(1)
2014–2016	Switzerland U20	3	(0)
2014–2015	Switzerland U21	4	(0)
2021–	Gambia	10	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 27 May 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19 January 2024

Saidy Janko (born 22 October 1995) is a professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Swiss club BSC Young Boys. Born in Switzerland, he played international football for Switzerland up to under-21 level before switching to play for the Gambia national team at senior level.

Janko began his career with FC Zürich before signing for Manchester United in 2013. After a loan spell with Bolton Wanderers, Janko moved to Scottish club Celtic in 2015. He had a loan to Barnsley before moving to Saint-Étienne permanently in July 2017.

Club career

Manchester United

Janko began his career at FC Zürich. ^[4] He joined Manchester United on summer transfer deadline day in 2013. ^[5] He was one of only three signings made by David Moyes during the 2013 summer transfer window. In his first season, he was voted the Reserve Player of the Year. ^[6] On 26 August 2014, he made his first-team debut in a League Cup match against Milton Keynes Dons, playing the first half before being substituted for fellow debutant Andreas Pereira as United lost 4–0. ^[7]

On 2 February 2015, transfer deadline day, Janko joined Championship club Bolton Wanderers on loan for the rest of the season, with Andy Kellett going in the opposite direction for the same period. ^[8] He made his debut for the club on 10 February, starting in a 3–1 league win over Fulham at the Macron Stadium. He crossed to assist Eiður Guðjohnsen's equaliser before half time, before scoring himself in the 80th minute from 25 yards out. ^[9]

Celtic

On 1 July 2015, Celtic announced that they had signed Janko on a four-year contract. ^[10] He made his debut nine days later, coming on as a substitute for Gary Mackay-Steven 75 minutes into Celtic's 1–0 win over Real Sociedad in a pre-season friendly at St. Mirren Park. ^[11] Janko made his competitive debut on 1 August, coming on as a second-half substitute during Celtic's 2–0 win over Ross County in the opening league match of the Scottish Premiership season. ^{[12] [13]}

On 31 August 2016, Janko joined Championship club Barnsley on a one-year loan deal. ^[14] He scored on his debut in a 4–0 away win against Wolverhampton Wanderers on 13 September. ^[15]

Saint-Étienne

On 7 July 2017, Janko left Celtic for French Ligue 1 club Saint-Étienne, signing a four-year contract. ^[16]

Porto

Janko moved to Portuguese club FC Porto on a five-year contract on 17 June 2018. ^[17] He returned to the EFL Championship on 31 August that year, joining Nottingham Forest on loan for the 2018–19 season. ^[18]

On 1 July 2019, Janko entered football in his native country for the first time in his career, being loaned to Young Boys for the Swiss Super League season. ^[19] He scored his first goal on 14 September in the second round of the Swiss Cup, in an 11–2 win at fifth-tier FC Freienbach. ^[20] In total Saidy played 46 official matches, starting 38 of them, as they won the double (Super League and Cup). ^{[21] [22]}

Valladolid

On 1 October 2020, Real Valladolid signed Janko on a four-year contract to end in 2024, for an undisclosed fee. ^[23] He made his debut in La Liga 24 days later in a 2–0 home loss to Deportivo Alavés. ^[24]

On 27 June 2022, VfL Bochum announced the signing of Janko on a season-long loan, with an option to buy at the end of the spell. ^[25]

Young Boys

On 30 June 2023, Real Valladolid announced that Janko had joined Swiss side Young Boys, where he had previously played on loan while a Porto player, on a permanent basis. ^[26]

International career

Janko was born in Zürich to a Gambian father and an Italian mother. ^[27] He was a youth international for Switzerland from 2012 to 2015, before opting to represent the Gambia in 2021. ^[28] He made his debut for the Gambia national team in a 2–0 friendly loss to Sierra Leone on 9 October 2021. ^[29]

He played in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, his national team's first continental tournament, where they reached the quarter-finals. ^{[30] [31]}

Personal life

He is the brother of fellow professional footballer Lenny Janko. ^[27]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 26 May 2024 ^[32]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup		League cup		Europe		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Manchester United	2014–15 [33]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0
Bolton Wanderers (loan)	2014–15 [33]	Championship	10	1	0	0	—		—		10	1
Celtic	2015–16 [34]	Scottish Premiership	10	0	0	0	1	0	2 [lower-alpha 1]	0	13	0
	2016–17 [35]		2	0	0	0	1	0	4 [lower-alpha 2]	0	7	0
	Total		12	0	0	0	2	0	6	0	20	0
Barnsley (loan)	2016–17 [35]	Championship	14	1	0	0	0	0	—		14	1
Saint-Étienne	2017–18 [36]	Ligue 1	21	0	0	0	1	0	—		22	0
Porto	2018–19 [37]	Primeira Liga	0	0	—		—		—		0	0
Nottingham Forest (loan)	2018–19 [37]	Championship	15	0	1	0	1	0	—		17	0
Young Boys (loan)	2019–20 [36]	Swiss Super League	33	0	5	1	—		8 [lower-alpha 3]	1	46	2
Real Valladolid	2020–21	La Liga	19	0	0	0	—		—		19	0
	2021–22	La Liga 2	15	0	1	0	—		—		15	0
	Total		34	0	1	0	—		—		35	0
Bochum (loan)	2022–23	Bundesliga	20	0	3	0	—		—		23	0
Young Boys	2023–24	Swiss Super League	30	0	1	1	—		6 [lower-alpha 4]	0	37	1
Career total			155	2	9	2	5	0	20	1	171	5

1. One appearance in UEFA Champions League, one in UEFA Europa League
2. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
3. Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, six appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League
4. Five appearances in UEFA Champions League, one appearance in UEFA Europa League

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Gambia	2021	3	0
	2022	3	0
	2023	2	0
	2024	2	0
Total		10	0

Honours

Celtic

• Scottish Premiership: 2015–16, 2016–17
• Scottish Cup: 2016–17

Young Boys

• Swiss Super League: 2019–20 ^[22]
• Swiss Cup: 2019–20 ^[21]

Individual

• Denzil Haroun Reserve Player of the Year: 2013–14

References

1. "Premier League Clubs submit Squad Lists" (PDF). Premier League. 3 September 2014. p. 27.
2. "Saidy JANKO". laliga.com. La Liga. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
3. Saidy Janko at BeSoccer
4. Lynch, David (19 November 2013). "In focus: United starlet Saidy Janko". Manchester Evening News. MEN Media. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
5. "Saidy Janko joins before deadline". BBC Sport. 3 September 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
6. Froggatt, Mark (8 May 2014). "Janko earns Reserves gong". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
7. Osborne, Chris (26 August 2014). "MK Dons 4-0 Man Utd". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
8. "Saidy Janko loaned from Man United, Andy Kellett goes other way". BWFC.co.uk. Bolton Wanderers FC. 2 February 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
9. "Bolton 3-1 Fulham". BBC Sport. 10 February 2015. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
10. "Saidy Janko: Celtic secure signing of Man Utd defender". BBC Sport. 1 July 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
11. McKay, Kenny (10 July 2015). "Celtic pass La Real test with flying colours". Celtic FC. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
12. "Games Involving Janko, Saidy In Season 2015/2016". FitbaStats. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
13. Lindsay, Clive (1 August 2015). "Celtic 2 - 0 Ross County". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
14. "Tykes complete loan capture of Celtic winger Saidy Janko". Calendar. ITV. 31 August 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
15. "Wolves 0-4 Barnsley". BBC Sport. 13 September 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
16. "Saidy Janko leaves Celtic for St Etienne". BBC Sport. 7 July 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
17. "Saidy Janko assina por cinco épocas pelo FC Porto" [Saidy Janko signs for five seasons for Porto]. A Bola (in Portuguese). 17 June 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
18. "Janko arrives on loan". Nottingham Forest F.C. 31 August 2018. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
19. "FC Porto empresta Saidy Janko ao Young Boys" [FC Porto loans Saidy Janko to Young Boys]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 1 July 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
20. "Schützenfest der Young Boys in Freienbach" [Young Boys' Schützenfest in Freienbach] (in German). Telebasel. 14 September 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
21. "Schweizerischer Fussballverband - Statistik und Resultate". www.football.ch (in German). Retrieved 18 October 2020.
22. "Young Boys wins Swiss league title in 54th week of season". Washington Post. Associated Press. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 18 October 2020.
23. "Valladolid sign Saidy Janko until 2024". Be Soccer. 1 October 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
24. García, Javier (25 October 2020). "El dilema del lateral derecho" [The right-back dilemma] (in Spanish). El Desmarque. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
25. "Saidy Janko joins VfL". vfl-bochum.de. VfL Bochum. 27 June 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
26. "Janko, al Young Boys". realvalladolid.es. Real Valladolid. 30 June 2023. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
27. "Wird Nomade Saidy Janko bei YB endlich sesshaft?". baernerbaer.ch.
28. "El extraño caso de Saidy Janko y Gambia". OneFootball.
29. "Gambia vs. Sierra Leone - Football Match Summary - October 9, 2021 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
30. https://www.cafonline.com/total-africa -cup-of-nations/matches/2021/2243295/lineups
31. "The Gambia name squad for first Nations Cup finals". BBC Sport.
32. Saidy Janko at Soccerway
33. "Games played by Saidy Janko in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
34. "Games played by Saidy Janko in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
35. "Games played by Saidy Janko in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
36. "S. Janko". Soccerway. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
37. "Games played by Saidy Janko in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 November 2019.

External links

• Saidy Janko at Soccerbase