Leon Dajaku (born 12 April 2001) is a German professional footballer who plays as a forward for EFL Championship club Sunderland.
![]() Dajaku with VfB Stuttgart in December 2018 | |||
Personal information | |||
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Full name | Leon Dajaku[1] | ||
Date of birth | (2001-04-12) 12 April 2001 (age 21) | ||
Place of birth | Waiblingen, Germany | ||
Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
Position(s) |
Winger Forward | ||
Club information | |||
Current team | Sunderland | ||
Number | 7 | ||
Youth career | |||
0000 | Spvgg Rommelshausen | ||
0000–2014 | FSV Waiblingen | ||
2014–2019 | VfB Stuttgart | ||
2019–2020 | Bayern Munich | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2018–2019 | VfB Stuttgart | 2 | (0) |
2019 | VfB Stuttgart II | 1 | (0) |
2019–2021 | Bayern Munich II | 43 | (7) |
2019–2021 | Bayern Munich | 2 | (0) |
2021 | → Union Berlin (loan) | 2 | (0) |
2021–2022 | Union Berlin | 0 | (0) |
2021–2022 | → Sunderland (loan) | 22 | (4) |
2022– | Sunderland | 8 | (0) |
International career‡ | |||
2017–2018 | Germany U17 | 14 | (3) |
2018–2019 | Germany U18 | 3 | (1) |
2019 | Germany U19 | 6 | (3) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:57, 12 December 2022 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 15 November 2019 |
Dajaku began his youth career with Spvgg Rommelshausen and FSV Waiblingen, before moving to the youth team of VfB Stuttgart in 2014.[2]
Dajaku made his professional debut for VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga on 9 December 2018, coming on as a substitute in the 75th minute for Anastasios Donis in the 0–3 away loss against Borussia Mönchengladbach.[3]
On 16 July 2019, Dajaku joined Bayern Munich on a four-year contract. He was subsequently assigned to the reserve team in the 3. Liga.[4] On 21 December 2019, he made his first team debut in a Bundesliga 2–0 home win against VfL Wolfsburg.
On 16 January 2021, Dajaku signed a six-month loan deal with Union Berlin with the option to purchase.[5]
On 31 August 2021, Union Berlin activated the purchase clause in the loan agreement for Dajaku. The fee was rumoured to be €1 million.[6]
On 31 August 2021, Dajaku signed a season-long loan deal with EFL League 1 club Sunderland AFC.[7] He scored his first goal for Sunderland against Cheltenham Town on 28 September 2021.[8]
Following the loan, Dajaku moved to Sunderland on a permanent basis in June 2022 and signed a two-year contract.[9]
Dajaku was included in Germany's squad for the 2018 edition of the UEFA European Under-17 Championship in England, where he scored twice in the 3–0 win against Serbia.[10] However, the German team was eliminated in the group stage.[11]
Dajaku was born in Waiblingen, Germany to Kosovo Albanian parents from Skenderaj.[12][13]
Club | Season | League | Cup[lower-alpha 1] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
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Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
VfB Stuttgart II | 2018–19 | Regionalliga Südwest | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
VfB Stuttgart | 2018–19 | Bundesliga | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||
Bayern Munich II | 2019–20 | 3. Liga | 29 | 4 | — | — | — | 29 | 4 | |||
2020–21 | 3. Liga | 14 | 3 | — | — | — | 14 | 3 | ||||
Total | 43 | 7 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 43 | 7 | ||||
Bayern Munich | 2019–20 | Bundesliga | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
2020–21 | Bundesliga | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
Total | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
Union Berlin | 2020–21 | Bundesliga | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
Sunderland | 2021–22 | League One | 22 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | 27 | 4 |
2022–23 | Championship | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
Total | 30 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 35 | 4 | ||
Career total | 80 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 86 | 11 |
Bayern Munich
Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C. – current squad | |
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