Saša Kalajdžić (Serbian Cyrillic: Саша Калајџић; born 7 July 1997) is an Austrian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers and the Austria national team.
![]() Kalajdžić with VfB Stuttgart in 2022 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Saša Kalajdžić | ||
Date of birth | (1997-07-07) 7 July 1997 (age 25) | ||
Place of birth | Vienna, Austria | ||
Height | 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in)[1] | ||
Position(s) | Striker | ||
Club information | |||
Current team | Wolverhampton Wanderers | ||
Number | 18 | ||
Youth career | |||
2004–2006 | SV Donau | ||
2006–2010 | SR Donaufeld Wien | ||
2010–2014 | First Vienna FC | ||
2014–2015 | SR Donaufeld Wien | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2015–2016 | SR Donaufeld Wien | 18 | (7) |
2016–2018 | Admira Wacker II | 33 | (13) |
2017–2019 | Admira Wacker | 33 | (11) |
2019–2022 | VfB Stuttgart | 57 | (23) |
2022– | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 1 | (0) |
International career‡ | |||
2017–2019 | Austria U21 | 6 | (0) |
2020– | Austria | 15 | (4) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:24, 3 September 2022 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:08, 13 June 2022 (UTC) |
Kalajdžić began his senior career playing in the third and fourth tiers of Austrian football with SR Donaufeld Wien. In 2016, he signed for Austrian Bundesliga club Admira Wacker, where he scored 12 goals in 35 games for the first team. He joined German club Stuttgart in July 2019, sustaining a serious knee injury shortly after joining and not making his debut until May 2020. He scored 24 goals in 60 games for Stuttgart. In August 2022, he was signed by English club Wolverhampton Wanderers for a reported fee of £15 million.
Kalajdžić played for Austria at under-21 level, before making his senior international debut in October 2020. He was part of Austria's squad at Euro 2020.
Kalajdžić joined FC Admira Wacker Mödling in 2016, from SR Donaufeld Wien.[2] He originally played as a midfielder for the club's reserve side in the Austrian Regionalliga East, before being converted into a forward.[2]
On 5 July 2019, Kalajdžić signed a four-year contract with the German club VfB Stuttgart.[3] Shortly after his arrival, he suffered a torn cruciate ligament during a preseason training camp.[4] He made his league debut on 28 May 2020, coming on as a substitute in the 78th minute of matchday 28 of the 2019–20 2. Bundesliga season against Hamburger SV, and scored his first goal on matchday 33 during a 6–0 rout of FC Nuremberg.[5]
In the following season, Kalajdžić frequently lead the line for VfB Stuttgart, finishing the season as the 6th top scorer in the Bundesliga with 16 goals,[6] helping his team finish 9th. The next season, he scored the winner in Stuttgart's 3–2 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach on matchday 25,[7] and the team's first goal in a 2–1 win over 1. FC Köln on the final matchday, to ensure the club's presence in the Bundesliga for the 2022–23 season.[8]
On 31 August 2022, English club Wolverhampton Wanderers announced that they had signed Kalajdžić on a five-year-deal, with the option to extend for a further 12 months.[9] The fee was undisclosed by the club, but was reported to be £15 million.[10] He made his debut three days later as a starter in a 1–0 Premier League win against Southampton at Molineux, but was substituted at half-time due to injury which was later confirmed as an ACL tear requiring surgery.[11][12] Wolves subsequently announced that the player underwent reparative surgery on 6 September, and cautioned that the typical rehabilitation period after such a procedure is nine months.[13]
Kalajdžić made six appearances for Austria at under-21 level.[14] He made his senior international debut for Austria on 14 October 2020, in a Nations League 1–0 win against Romania, as an added-time substitute for Michael Gregoritsch.[15] On 25 March 2021, he scored his first two international goals in a 2–2 away draw with Scotland during 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification.[16] He was included in the squad for Euro 2020, where he scored a goal in a 2–1 loss after extra-time against Italy in the round of 16.[17]
Due to his two-metre stature and relatively slender build, Kalajdžić received comparisons with the English striker Peter Crouch, who similarly to him functioned as an out-and-out target man. During his youth career, Kalajdžić also played as a holding midfielder and referred to Nemanja Matić as an inspiration.[18][19]
Born in Austria, Kalajdžić is of Serbian descent.[20][21][22]
Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Europe | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
SR Donaufeld Wien | 2014–15[14] | Austrian Regionalliga East | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||
2015–16[14] | Wiener Stadtliga | 16 | 7 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 7 | |||
Total | 18 | 7 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 18 | 7 | ||||
Admira Wacker Amateure | 2016–17[23] | Austrian Regionalliga East | 27 | 10 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 27 | 10 | ||
2017–18[23] | Austrian Regionalliga East | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 3 | |||
2018–19[23] | Austrian Regionalliga East | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||
Total | 33 | 13 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 13 | ||||
Admira Wacker | 2017–18[23] | Austrian Bundesliga | 18 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 20 | 4 | ||
2018–19[23] | Austrian Bundesliga | 15 | 8 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 15 | 8 | ||
Total | 33 | 11 | 2 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | 35 | 12 | |||
VfB Stuttgart | 2019–20[23] | 2. Bundesliga | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 1 | ||
2020–21[23] | Bundesliga | 33 | 16 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 36 | 17 | |||
2021–22[23] | Bundesliga | 15 | 6 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 6 | |||
2022–23[23] | Bundesliga | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||
Total | 57 | 23 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 60 | 24 | ||||
Wolverhampton Wanderers | 2022–23[23] | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
Career total | 142 | 54 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 147 | 56 |
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Austria | 2020 | 2 | 0 |
2021 | 9 | 4 | |
2022 | 4 | 0 | |
Total | 15 | 4 |
No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 25 March 2021 | Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland | 3 | ![]() | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification | [25] |
2 | 2–1 | |||||||
3 | 28 March 2021 | Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna, Austria | 4 | ![]() | 3–1 | 3–1 | [26] | |
4 | 26 June 2021 | Wembley Stadium, London, England | 11 | ![]() | 1–2 | 1–2 (a.e.t.) | UEFA Euro 2020 | [27] |
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. – current squad | |
---|---|
Austria squad – UEFA Euro 2020 | ||
---|---|---|
| ![]() |