Geraldo Bajrami

Geraldo Bajrami (born 24 September 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for National League club Notts County. He came through the youth system at Birmingham City, and made his EFL Championship debut in 2019. He spent time on loan at Solihull Moors of the National League in 2020, and was released in 2021. Bajrami was born in England to Albanian parents, and has represented Albania at under-21 level.

Geraldo Bajrami
Bajrami making his EFL debut for Birmingham City, December 2019
Personal information
Full name Geraldo Bajrami[1]
Date of birth (1999-09-24) 24 September 1999[2]
Place of birth Birmingham, England
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
 Notts County
Number 24
Youth career
200?–2018 Birmingham City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2021 Birmingham City 2 (0)
2020 → Solihull Moors (loan) 4 (0)
2021–2022 Kidderminster Harriers 34 (1)
2022– Notts County 31 (2)
International career
2019–2020 Albania U21 8 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:03, 12 April 2023 (UTC)

Club career

Bajrami was born in Birmingham in 1999, just two weeks after his Albanian parents left Kosovo because of the war.[3][4] He was raised in the Quinton district[3] and attended Priory School in Edgbaston.[5] He had two unsuccessful trials with Birmingham City's Academy before he was accepted at under-14 level,[4] and took up a two-year scholarship in July 2016.[6] Academy coach Steve Spooner described him as "quite an unassuming young man but is very much a leader and is very popular with the rest of the players."[6]

He captained the club's under-18 team that reached the semifinal of the 2017–18 FA Youth Cup, performing well in a defensive partnership with Ryan Stirk against a very strong Chelsea side,[7][8] and signed his first professional contract, of one year, at the end of the season.[5] He went on to captain Birmingham's under-23 team in 2018–19,[3] making 36 appearances over the season,[9] as they finished as runners-up in the Professional Development League northern section and lost out to Leeds United on penalties for the overall title.[10] He was offered a two-year deal in March 2019,[11] and signed it in late June.[9]

A hernia operation at the end of the season meant that Bajrami missed out on the first-team's pre-season fixtures.[9][12] He was fit to make his competitive debut in the EFL Cup first round on 6 August 2019. Manager Pep Clotet fielded an inexperienced team for the visit to Portsmouth, and Bajrami played the whole of the 3–0 defeat.[13] With Marc Roberts and Jake Clarke-Salter injured, he made his Football League debut on 14 December 2019, partnering Harlee Dean in central defence in a 3–2 defeat at home to Championship leaders West Bromwich Albion.[14][15] He kept his place for the next match, a 3–0 loss to Hull City, before Clotet tried other options.[16]

Bajrami joined National League club Solihull Moors on 20 February 2020 on a youth loan to the end of the season.[17] He had made four appearances in the starting eleven by the time the National League season was first suspended and then ended early because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[18][19] He was an unused substitute for Birmingham at the end of that season,[19] and was not part of the first-team matchday squad at all in 2020–21.[19] In May 2021, the club confirmed that he would leave when his contract expired at the end of the season.[20] His last appearance was for Birmingham's U23 team as they beat Sheffield United U23 in the national final of the 2020–21 Professional Development League.[21]

Bajrami signed for National League North club Kidderminster Harriers on 19 August 2021,[22] and made his debut two days later, starting in a 3–0 win against Blyth Spartans in place of Keith Lowe, who was unavailable because of illness.[23]

On 24 June 2022, Bajrami signed for National League club Notts County alongside Kidderminster teammate Sam Austin, Bajrami signing for a compensation fee on a two-year contract.[24]

International career

In January 2019, Bajrami attended a training camp for Albanian youth players, and applied for an Albanian passport in the hope of being selected for their under-21 team ahead of the upcoming 2021 European Championship qualifiers.[3] He made his debut in the starting eleven for a 2–1 defeat at home to Turkey U21 on 23 March; he played the whole match, and was booked in the second half.[19] He made eight appearances in all.[25]

Career statistics
As of match played 10 April 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Birmingham City 2019–20[19] Championship200010—30
2020–21[26] Championship000000—00
Total 200010—30
Solihull Moors (loan) 2019–20[19] National League40———40
Kidderminster Harriers 2021–22[19][27] National League North34170—1[lower-alpha 1]0421
Notts County 2022–23[19] National League31210—2[lower-alpha 1]0342
Career total 713801030833
  1. Appearance(s) in FA Trophy

Honours

Notts County

References
  1. "Notification of shirt numbers: Birmingham City" (PDF). English Football League. p. 4. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  2. "Geraldo Bajrami". Birmingham City F.C. Archived from the original on 6 August 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  3. "Under-23s captain set for Albania honour". Birmingham City F.C. 7 February 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  4. Dick, Brian (21 June 2018). "This is the remarkable journey made by Birmingham City's newest professional". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  5. "Geraldo Bajrami pens professional deal". Birmingham City F.C. 21 June 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  6. "An introduction to the Academy new boys". Birmingham City F.C. 9 July 2016. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  7. Wollaston, Steve (1 March 2018). "Birmingham City news and transfers: Steve Cotterill's future; Fears over finances; Fans want answers". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  8. Dick, Brian (31 March 2018). "Imperious Chelsea, luckless Bailey, Stirk promise – what we learned from Birmingham City's FA Youth Cup defeat". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  9. "Under-23s captain Bajrami extends contract". Birmingham City F.C. 28 June 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  10. "Report: Leeds United Under-23s 0 Blues Under-23s 0 – Leeds win 4–2 on penalties". Birmingham City F.C. 6 May 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  11. Dick, Brian (21 March 2019). "The Under 23s Birmingham City have decided to release and retain". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  12. "Blues preparing for next step". Birmingham City F.C. 19 July 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  13. Chapman, Joseph (6 August 2019). "Birmingham City player ratings: Jude Bellingham shines bright despite defeat". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  14. Scott, Ged (14 December 2019). "Birmingham City 2–3 West Bromwich Albion". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  15. Dick, Brian (14 December 2019). "'Heavy metal' – Every word from Pep Clotet as Birmingham City lose to West Brom". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  16. Dick, Brian (26 December 2019). "Blackburn Rovers v Birmingham City: Pep Clotet rings the changes at Ewood Park". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  17. Turner, Luke (20 February 2020). "Geraldo Bajrami checks in at Solihull Moors". Solihull Moors F.C. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  18. "National League clubs vote to end regular season immediately". BBC Sport. 22 April 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  19. "G. Bajrami". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  20. "Retained and released list". Birmingham City F.C. 17 May 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  21. Dick, Brian (24 May 2021). "Blues U23s vs Sheff Utd U23s player ratings: Man City trainee sparkles as George blunts Blades". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  22. Paddock, Matty (19 August 2021). "Geraldo Bajrami signs". Kidderminster Harriers F.C. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  23. "Kidderminster Harriers 3 Blyth Spartans 0 – Report". Express & Star. Wolverhampton. 21 August 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  24. "Signings: Austin & Bajrami". Notts County F.C. 24 June 2022. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  25. "Geraldo Bajrami: Internationals". worldfootball.net. HeimSpiel Medien. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  26. "Games played by Geraldo Bajrami in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  27. For FA Cup 2nd qualifying round: Judah, Nathan (18 September 2021). "FA Cup: Sporting Khalsa 1 Kidderminster 3 – Report". Express & Star. Wolverhampton. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
    For FA Cup 3rd qualifying round: "Harriers forced to FA Cup replay after Ware draw". The Shuttle. Kidderminster. 2 October 2021. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
    "Freemantle hailed as Harriers seal Cup win". The Shuttle. Kidderminster. 5 October 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  28. Aloia, Andrew (13 May 2023). "Chesterfield 2–2 Notts County". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
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