Zachary Elbouzedi (Arabic: البوزيدي, romanized: ʾalbuzīdī, IPA: [ʔaɫbuziːdiː]; born 5 April 1998) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for AIK.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1998-04-05) 5 April 1998 (age 24) | ||
| Place of birth | Dublin, Ireland | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | AIK | ||
| Number | 20 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2014 | Malahide United | ||
| 2014–2017 | West Bromwich Albion | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2017–2018 | Inverness Caledonian Thistle | 4 | (0) |
| 2018 | → Elgin City (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 2019 | Waterford | 27 | (6) |
| 2020–2021 | Lincoln City | 7 | (0) |
| 2021 | → Bolton Wanderers (loan) | 14 | (0) |
| 2021– | AIK | 35 | (1) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2012 | Republic of Ireland U15 | 4 | (2) |
| 2013–2014 | Republic of Ireland U16 | 7 | (0) |
| 2014-2015 | Republic of Ireland U17 | 12 | (1) |
| 2016 | Republic of Ireland U18 | 2 | (0) |
| 2016–2018 | Republic of Ireland U19 | 10 | (1) |
| 2019–2020 | Republic of Ireland U21 | 13 | (3) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 05:45, 15 November 2021 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:37, 17 November 2020 (UTC) | |||
Elbouzedi started his career with Malahide United before he joined Inverness Caledonian Thistle on a free transfer deal in the summer of 2017 from West Bromwich Albion.[1] He was not able to play immediately due to an injury, but manager John Robertson believed he would compete for a place in the team when healthy.[2]
He was signed by Elgin City on a 28 day long emergency loan contract on 30 December 2017.[3]
After working himself back to match fitness by playing for Elgin City,[4] Elbouzedi made his professional debut for Inverness Caledonian Thistle on 13 March 2018 against Dunfermline Athletic.[5]
Zak left Inverness on 31 August 2018, after terminating his contract by mutual consent after an injury ravaged season and only playing in one game in the 2018–19 season, which was a League Cup win over Cove Rangers.[6]
On 7 November 2018, Elbouzedi joined League of Ireland Premier Division side Waterford.[7]
He made 29 appearances for the Blues in all competitions, scoring 6 goals in an impressive season personally despite a disappointing season for the club as they finished in sixth place.[8]
On 16 December 2019 it was announced that Elbouzedi would move to English club Lincoln City on 1 January 2020 after signing a long-term deal with the club.[9][10] He scored his first goal for Lincoln in an EFL Trophy tie against Shrewsbury Town on 8 December 2020.[11]
On 16 January 2021 he would join Bolton Wanderers on loan for the remainder of the season.[12] He would make his debut a few hours later, starting the EFL League Two game against Cheltenham Town.[13]
On 15 July 2021, it was confirmed that he would join Swedish Allsvenskan side AIK for an undisclosed fee, signing a contract until 31 December 2024.[14][15] He would make his AIK and Allsvenskan debut just a few days later, coming off the bench in the 85th minute against Kalmar FF.[16]
Elbouzedi has represented the Republic of Ireland at youth international level.[17] He remains eligible to play for the Libya national football team due to his father being Libyan and has been contacted about representing Libya but has always stated he only ever wanted to play for the Republic of Ireland.[18] Elbouzedi was capped at under 21 level for the first time in 2019 and was selected for the 2019 Toulon Tournament.
Elbouzedi was born in Dublin to a Libyan father and an Irish mother.[17]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup[lower-alpha 1] | League Cup[lower-alpha 2] | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| West Bromwich Albion | 2016–17[19] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Inverness Caledonian Thistle | 2017–18[20] | Scottish Championship | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 4] | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 2018–19 | Scottish Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Inverness Caledonian Thistle Total | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||
| Elgin City (loan) | 2017–18[20] | Scottish League Two | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Waterford | 2019[21] | League of Ireland Premier Division | 27 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 6 |
| Lincoln City | 2019–20[22] | EFL League One | 5 | 0 | – | – | – | 5 | 0 | |||
| 2020–21[23] | EFL League One | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 2 | |
| Lincoln City Total | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 2 | ||
| Bolton Wanderers (loan) | 2020–21[23] | EFL League Two | 14 | 0 | – | – | – | 14 | 0 | |||
| AIK | 2021[24] | Allsvenskan | 20 | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | – | 21 | 2 | ||
| 2022[25] | Allsvenskan | 15 | 0 | 4 | 1 | – | 1[lower-alpha 5] | 0 | 20 | 1 | ||
| AIK Total | 35 | 1 | 5 | 2 | – | 1 | 0 | 41 | 3 | |||
| Career total | 86 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 106 | 11 | ||
Bolton Wanderers
AIK Fotboll – current squad | |
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