Bardhec Bytyqi (Albanian pronunciation: [byˈtytʃi]; born 8 January 1997) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a left midfielder for Esbjerg fB.[3]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1997-01-08) 8 January 1997 (age 25) | ||
| Place of birth | Nørresundby, Denmark[1] | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Left midfielder[2] | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Esbjerg fB | ||
| Number | 7 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 0000–2005 | NUBI | ||
| 2005–2016 | AaB | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2019 | AaB | 1 | (0) |
| 2018 | → Skive (loan) | 9 | (1) |
| 2019 | → Jammerbugt (loan) | 14 | (1) |
| 2019–2022 | Jammerbugt | 64 | (17) |
| 2022– | Esbjerg fB | 13 | (0) |
| National team | |||
| 2017 | Albania U21 | 3 | (1) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:15, 28 July 2022 (UTC) | |||
Born in Nørresundby, Denmark, to Albanian parents,[4] Bytyqi started his career with Nr. Uttrup & Bouet Idrætsforening (NUBI), before moving to the youth academy of AaB at age 8.[5][6] In July 2016, he was promoted to the AaB first team alongside six other youth players, including Joakim Mæhle and Magnus Christensen.[6]
He made his senior debut for AaB on 7 September 2016 in a local match in the Danish Cup against his hometown club Nørresundby FB. There, he played the entire match in a 1–5 away win, assisting Thomas Enevoldsen's 2–0 goal in the first half.[7] On 6 July 2017, it was announced that Bytyqi had signed a two-year contract extension, keeping him in Aalborg until 30 June 2019.[4]
Bytyqi was sent on a six-month loan to the second-tier 1st Division club Skive IK in January 2018, as Bytyqi had no prospect of first-team football in AaB.[8] He managed to make nine appearances and score a goal for Skive in the 2nd Division in the spring of 2018.[3] The one goal came on 17 April against FC Roskilde, described as a "dream goal".[9][10]
He returned to AaB in the summer of 2018 as his loan deal expired.[11] He made his debut in the Danish Superliga on 27 August 2018, when he came on as a substitute in the 87th minute instead of Kristoffer Pallesen in a 0–1 defeat at home to Esbjerg fB.[12] In addition to his Superliga debut, he made only one appearance in the autumn of 2018 on 26 September 2018 in a 0–5 away win over FC Roskilde in the Danish Cup. Due to lacking prospects of playing time in AaB in the spring of 2019, Bytyqi was loaned out to Jammerbugt FC in the 2nd Division for the rest of the season on 24 January 2019.[13] He left AaB permanently at the end of the season, as his contract expired.[14][5]
When the loan deal expired in the summer of 2019, Bytiqi continued on a permanent contract in Jammerbugt FC.[15] In June 2021, Bytyqi signed a new one-year deal with Jammerbugt.[16]
On 10 January 2022 Esbjerg fB confirmed, that they had signed Bytyqi on a deal until the end of 2024.[17]
Bytyqi was first called up for a national team gathering for the Albania national U21 team by coach Alban Bushi for matches played 18–25 January 2017. He was recalled two months later in two friendly matches against Moldova on 25 and 27 March 2017.[18] In the second match played at Selman Stërmasi Stadium, Bytyqi scored in the second half of a match that Albania won 2–0 after a goal by Kristal Abazaj in the first half.[19]
He was later called up for the friendly match against France U21 on 5 June 2017 and the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifier against Estonia on 12 June.[20] The day before the friendly against France, however, he suffered an injury, causing him to miss both matches.[21]
Esbjerg fB – current squad | |
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