Edon Zhegrova

Edon Lulzim Zhegrova (born 31 March 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as a right winger for Ligue 1 club Lille. Born in Germany, he represents the Kosovo national team.

Edon Zhegrova
Zhegrova with Lille in 2023
Personal information
Full name Edon Lulzim Zhegrova
Date of birth (1999-03-31) 31 March 1999
Place of birth Herford, Germany
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Right winger
Team information
Current team
 Lille
Number 23
Youth career
2012 Flamurtari
2012–2015 Prishtina
2015 Standard Liège
2015–2017 Sint-Truiden
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2020 Genk 19 (2)
2019–2020 → Basel (loan) 22 (2)
2020–2022 Basel 38 (7)
2022– Lille 35 (5)
International career‡
2018– Kosovo 32 (4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 3 June 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19 June 2023

Club career

Early career

Zhegrova is a product of youth team systems of the different Kosovan and Belgian sides. In 2012, he was chosen as the best player of the Milan Junior Camp which was held in Kosovo.[1][2][3]

Genk

On 22 March 2017, Zhegrova joined Belgian First Division A side Genk.[4] On 10 September 2017, he made his debut in a 1–1 away draw against Gent after coming on as a substitute in the 80th minute in place of Ruslan Malinovskyi.[5]

Period on loan

On 4 February 2019, Genk announced the loan of Zhegrova to Swiss Super League side Basel.[6] On the same day later, the Swiss club confirmed that he had joined on a one and a half season loan contract and received squad number 30.[7] On 23 February 2019, he made his debut in a 2–0 away win against Neuchâtel Xamax after coming on as a substitute in the 83rd minute in place of Valentin Stocker.[8][9] He scored his first goal for his new club on 25 September 2019 in the home match in the St. Jakob Stadium against Zürich as Basel won 4–0. It was the third goal of the game.[10]

Return as a permanent player

On 22 September 2020, Zhegrova signed a three-year contract with Swiss Super League club Basel and received squad number 30.[11] Five days later, he made his debut in a 1–0 away win against Servette after being named in the starting line-up.[12] Seven days after debut, Zhegrova scored his first goal for Basel in his third appearance for the club in a 3–2 home win over Luzern in Swiss Super League.[13]

On 14 January the club announced that Zhegrova had transferred out and signed for French team Lille OSC for undisclosed fee.[14] During his three years with the club from January 2019 to January 2022 Zhegrova played a total of 89 games for Basel scoring a total of 15 goals. 60 of these games were in the Swiss Super League, 3 in the Swiss Cup, 11 in the Europa League and Conference League and 15 were friendly games. He scored 9 goals in the domestic league, 2 in the Conference League and the other 4 were scored during the test games.[15]

Lille

On 14 January 2022, Zhegrova signed a four-year contract with Ligue 1 club Lille and received squad number 23.[16] Lille reportedly paid a €7 million transfer fee.[17] Eight days later, he was named as a Lille substitute for the first time in a league match against Brest.[18] His debut with Lille came on 6 February in a 1–5 home defeat against Paris Saint-Germain after coming on as a substitute in the 85th minute in place of Jonathan Bamba.[19] One month after debut, Zhegrova scored his first goal for Lille in his fourth appearance for the club in a 4–0 home win over Clermont in Ligue 1.[20]

International career

He had the option to represent Albania being an ethnic Albanian, but decided to represent Kosovo. In August 2017, Zhegrova refused a call-up from Kosovo U21 with the pretense that it's important for him to concentrate on playing at the club level for now.[21] On 6 March 2018, he finally decides to play with Kosovo.[22] Thirteen days later, Zhegrova received a call-up from Kosovo for friendly matches against Madagascar and Burkina Faso.[23] Five days after the call-up, he made his debut with Kosovo in a friendly match against Madagascar after being named in the starting line-up and scored his side's only goal during a 1–0 home win.[24]

Personal life

Zhegrova was born in Herford, Germany to Kosovo Albanian parents from the village Dobrajë e Madhe of Lipjan,[25] which later would be his temporary residence after his family returned to Kosovo's capital, Pristina, after the end of Kosovo War.[21] Zhegrova's younger sister, Valza is a singer.[26][27]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 3 June 2023[28]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Europe[lower-alpha 1] Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Genk 2017–18 Belgian Pro League 12120—1[lower-alpha 2]0151
2018–19 Belgian Pro League 711142—124
Total 192314210275
Basel (loan) 2018–19 Swiss Super League 8010——90
2019–20 Swiss Super League 1421030—182
Total 2222030—272
Basel 2020–21 Swiss Super League 3051010—325
2021–22 Swiss Super League 820072—154
Total 3871082—479
Lille 2021–22 Ligue 1 1320010—142
2022–23 Ligue 1 22331——254
Total 3553110—3926
Career total 11416921641014022
  1. Includes UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League
  2. Appearance in Belgian Pro League championship play-offs

International
As of match played 19 June 2023[29]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Kosovo 201882
201990
202050
202120
202241
202341
Total324

Scores and results list Kosovo's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Zhegrova goal.

List of international goals scored by Edon Zhegrova
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1 24 March 2018 (2018-03-24) Stade Municipal Jean Rolland, Franconville, France  Madagascar 1–0 1–0 Friendly [30]
2 29 May 2018 (2018-05-29) Letzigrund, Zürich, Switzerland  Albania 3–0 3–0 [31]
3 2 June 2022 (2022-06-02) AEK Arena – Georgios Karapatakis, Larnaca, Cyprus  Cyprus 2–0 2–0 2022–23 UEFA Nations League C [32]
4 28 March 2023 (2023-03-28) Fadil Vokrri Stadium, Pristina, Kosovo  Andorra 1–0 1–1 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying [33]

References
  1. "Taçi Oil" dhe "Milan Junior Kamp" çojnë dhjetë talente kosovarë në "San Siro" ["Taçi Oil" and "Milan Junior Camp" sent ten Kosovar talents to "San Siro"]. Telegraf.al (in Albanian). 2 November 2012.
  2. "Edon Zhegrova: Der Superlativ-Magnet aus dem Kosovo" [Edon Zhegrova: The superlative magnet from Kosovo] (in German). GOAL. 9 January 2018.
  3. "Goal.com: Edon Zhegrova, supertalenti nga Kosova që ëndërron Barcelonën" [Goal.com: Edon Zhegrova, a super-talent from Kosovo who dreams of Barcelona] (in Albanian). Telegrafi. 9 January 2018.
  4. "Edon Zhegrova nënshkruan me Genk" [Edon Zhegrova signed with Genk] (in Albanian). Koha Ditore. 22 March 2017.
  5. "Zhegrova debuton në futbollin belg" [Zhegrova debuts in the Belgian football] (in Albanian). Radio Television of Kosovo. 10 September 2017.
  6. "Zhegrova trekt naar Basel" [Zhegrova moves to Basel] (in Dutch). K.R.C. Genk. 4 February 2019.
  7. "Edon Zhegrova leihweise zum FC Basel 1893" [Edon Zhegrova on loan to FC Basel 1893] (in German). FC Basel. 4 February 2019. Archived from the original on 18 April 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  8. "Der FCB gewinnt gegen Xamax" [The FCB wins against Xamax] (in German). FC Basel. 23 February 2019. Archived from the original on 18 April 2019. Retrieved 23 February 2019. FCB: Omlin; Widmer, Suchy (72. Frei), Kaiser, Petretta; Xhaka, Kuzmanovic (77. Zuffi); Okafor, Campo, Stocker (83. Zhegrova); Ajeti
  9. Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv” (23 February 2019). "Neuchâtel Xamax FCS - FC Basel 0:2 (0:1)". Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  10. Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv” (25 September 2019). "FC Basel - FC Zürich 4:0 (1:0)". Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  11. "Edon Zhegrova unterschreibt beim FCB bis Sommer 2023" [Edon Zhegrova will sign with FCB until summer 2023] (in German). FC Basel. 22 September 2020. Archived from the original on 1 October 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  12. "Eine bittere Penalty-Niederlage in Genf" [A bitter penalty defeat in Geneva] (in Albanian). FC Basel. 27 September 2020.
  13. "3:2 gegen Luzern – drei hart erkämpfte und verdiente Punkte" [3:2 against Luzern – three hard-fought and deserved points] (in German). FC Basel. 4 October 2020.
  14. FC Basel 1893 (14 January 2022). "Edon Zhegrova wechselt zum Französischen Meister OSC Lille". Edon Zhegrova moves to the French champions Lille OSC. FC Basel 1893 AG. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  15. Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv” (2022). "Edon Zhegrova - FCB-Statistik". Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  16. "Edon Zhegrova, un nouveau talent chez les Dogues" [Edon Zhegrova, a new talent for the Dogues] (in French). Lille OSC. 14 January 2022. Archived from the original on 14 January 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  17. Domenighetti, Joël (14 January 2022). "Lille va engager Edon Zhegrova" [Lille will sign Edon Zhegrova]. L'Équipe (in French). Archived from the original on 14 January 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  18. Lille OSC [@LOSC_EN] (22 January 2022). "Our #SB29LOSC line-up... #LOSC | @Hello_Lille" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  19. "LOSC–PSG (1–5): Une soirée à oublier" [LOSC–PSG (1–5): An evening to forget] (in French). Lille OSC. 6 February 2022. Archived from the original on 6 February 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  20. Lille OSC [@LOSC_EN] (6 March 2022). "EDON GETS HIS FIRST LILLE GOAL!!! | 4–0 #LOSCCF63 | #LOSC | @Ligue1_ENG" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  21. "Genkenaar stuurt bondscoach wandelen: "Ik had daar weinig zin in" [Genkenaar sends national coach walking: "I did not feel like it]. Voetbalprimeur (in Dutch). 5 September 2017.
  22. "Edon Zhegrova i thotë "Po" Kosovës" [Edon Zhegrova says "Yes" to Kosovo] (in Albanian). Football Federation of Kosovo. 6 March 2018.
  23. "Lista e futbollistëve të ftuar nga Bernard Challandes për miqësoret e marsit" [List of invited footballers by Bernard Challandes for the March friendlies] (in Albanian). Football Federation of Kosovo. 19 March 2018. Archived from the original on 21 September 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  24. "Challandes e nis me fitore, Zhegrova debuton me gol" [Challandes starts with victory, Zhegrova debuts with a goal] (in Albanian). Football Federation of Kosovo. 24 March 2018. Archived from the original on 25 April 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  25. "Edon Zhegrova nga Dobraja e Madhe mbrëmë Luajti dhe e Përfaqësoj Kosovën A, vetem 19 vjeqar.! #KrenarmeZhegroven" [Edon Zhegrova from Dobraja e Madhe last night Played and Represented Kosovo A, only 19 years old.! #ProudwithZhegrova]. Facebook (in Albanian). KF Arbëria. 22 March 2019.[self-published]
  26. "Valza Zhegrova : Biografia" [Valza Zhegrova : Biography]. Tekste Shqip (in Albanian).
  27. "Fol Shqip" Show – Edon & Valza Zhegrova – 27.04.2019 on YouTube
  28. Edon Zhegrova at Soccerway
  29. "Edon Zhegrova". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  30. "Kosovo (1–0) Madagascar". EU-Football.info. 24 March 2018.
  31. "Kosovo (3–0) Albania". EU-Football.info. 29 May 2018.
  32. "Cyprus (0–2) Kosovo". EU-Football.info. 2 June 2022.
  33. "Kosovo (1–1) Andorra". EU-Football.info. 28 March 2023.
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