Tudor Cristian Băluță (; born 27 March 1999) is a Romanian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

defensive midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

or a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for

Liga I The Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1, is a Romanian professional league for men's association football clubs. Currently sponsored by betting company Superbet, it is officially known as the SuperLiga. It is the country's top ...

club Farul Constanța and the

Romania national team Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

Club career

Viitorul Constanța

Băluță began his career in native

Craiova Craiova (, also , ), is Romania's 6th Cities in Romania, largest city and capital of Dolj County, and situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia. It is a longstanding political center, and is located at approximatel ...

, joining the

Gheorghe Popescu Gheorghe "Gică" Popescu (; born 9 October 1967) is a Romanian former professional football who played as a defender. He notably played in La Liga where he is a former captain of FC Barcelona. He played for a string of European clubs in tha ...

Football School at age 8. Six years later, he moved to Viitorul Constanța's

academy An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...

. Băluță made his professional debut in the

on 2 May 2016, aged 17, replacing

Ianis Hagi Ianis Hagi (; born 22 October 1998) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or a forward for Scottish Premiership club Rangers and the Romania national team. He made his professional debut for Viitorul Cons ...

in the 54th minute of a 6–1 thrashing of ASA Târgu Mureș. Tudor Baluta - 24

He did not feature in any senior games in the next season as Viitorul won the first league title in its history, but started appearing frequently for the side since the summer of 2017. On 24 August that year, Băluță recorded his

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

debut in a UEFA Europa League play-off round 0–4 loss to Red Bull Salzburg. On 30 August 2018, he scored his first goal—and the only of the match—in a league win over

Astra Giurgiu Asociația Fotbal Club Astra Giurgiu (), commonly known as Astra Giurgiu or simply Astra, was a Romanian football club based in the city of Giurgiu, Giurgiu County. Founded in 1921 in Ploiești as ''Clubul Sportiv Astra-Română'', it spent th ...

Brighton & Hove Albion

Băluță agreed to a three-and-a-half-year contract with English club

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

on 31 January 2019. Băluță was immediately loaned back to Viitorul Constanța for the remainder of the

campaign Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * Bl ...

. Press reported the transfer fee at

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3 million, which made him the club's most expensive sale at the time, tied with

Florinel Coman Florinel Teodor Coman (; born 10 April 1998) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Liga I club FCSB and the Romania national team. After starting out at Viitorul Constanța and winning a national championship in his ...

. On 25 May, he was a starter and played the full match in the

Cupa României The Cupa României ( en, Romanian Cup) is a Association football, football cup competition for List of football clubs in Romania, Romanian teams which has been held annually since 1933–34 Cupa României, 1933–34, except during World War II. I ...

final 2–1 success against Astra Giurgiu. Returning to Brighton during pre-season following the expiration of his loan, Băluță made the bench for the first time for "the Seagulls" in a 2–1 away win over

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been c ...

in the

EFL Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

on 27 August 2019 and was named on the bench in a

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

fixture for the first time in a 1–1 home draw against

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

on 14 September. He remained an unused substitute in both fixtures. Băluță made his debut for the Sussex club in the

playing the whole match in the 3–1 home defeat to

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

on 25 September.

Loan to ADO Den Haag

On 17 January 2020 it was confirmed that Băluță had joined

ADO Den Haag Alles Door Oefening Den Haag (), commonly known by the abbreviated name ADO Den Haag (), is a Dutch association football club from the city of The Hague. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation f ...

on loan until the end of the season. He made his debut for the

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

side a week later playing the full match in a 4–0 away loss at

FC Utrecht Football Club Utrecht () is a Dutch professional football club based in Utrecht. The club competes in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football, and plays its home matches at the Stadion Galgenwaard. The club was formed in 1970 as a merge ...

. Băluță made 4 appearances for

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

based side with his time at the club cut short due to the Dutch FA taking the decision to cancel the season due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Loan to Dynamo Kyiv

On 4 October 2020 the loan of Băluță to

Dynamo Kyiv Football Club Dynamo Kyiv (, ) is a Ukrainian professional Association football, football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Union, Soviet Dynamo Sports Club, Dynamo Sports Soc ...

was confirmed by the president of the club

Ihor Surkis Ihor Mikhaylovich Surkis ( uk, Ігор Михайлович Суркіс; born 22 November 1958) is a Ukrainian oligarch best known for being an owner and President of Dynamo Kyiv since 2002. His brother, Hryhoriy Surkis, was the head of the Fo ...

in his interview. He made his debut for Kiev in what was also his first Champions League appearance coming on as a substitute in a 2–2 away draw against Hungarian side

Ferencváros Ferencváros () is the 9th district of Budapest ( hu, Budapest IX. kerülete), Hungary. Name The southern suburb of Pest was named after King Francis I on 4 December 1792 when he was crowned king of Hungary. History The development of Fe ...

on 28 October. Băluță made his

Ukrainian Premier League The Ukrainian Premier League ( uk, "Українська Прем'єр-ліга", ''Ukrayinska Premier Liha'') or UPL is the highest division of Ukrainian annual football championship. As the Vyshcha Liha ( uk, Вища ліга, ''Top League'') ...

debut coming on as a substitute in a 2–0 away victory against

Inhulets The Inhulets () is a river, a right tributary of the Dnieper, that flows through Ukraine. It has a length of 557 km and a drainage basin of 14,460 km². The Inhulets has its source in the Dnieper Upland in a ravine (balka) to the wes ...

on 21 November.

Farul Constanța

On 12 July 2022, Băluță signed a two-year contract with Liga I team Farul Constanța.

International career

Băluță earned his first senior

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

for

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

on 31 May 2018, coming on as a 71st-minute substitute for his former Viitorul Constanța teammate

Dragoș Nedelcu Dragoș Ionuț Nedelcu (; born 16 February 1997) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder or a centre-back for Liga I club Farul Constanța. Nedelcu started his senior career at Viitorul Constanța, for which h ...

in a 3–2 friendly victory over

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. Despite not playing in the qualifiers, Băluță was selected in

's squad for the

2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship The 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship (also known as UEFA Under-21 Euro 2019) was the 22nd edition of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship (25th edition if the Under-23 era is also included), the biennial international youth football ch ...

in Italy. Băluță scored on debut against

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

on 19 June, which ended in a 4–1 win for his side. He recorded three more games as ''Tricolorii mici'' were eliminated by

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in the

semi-finals A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

, following a 2–4 defeat.

Style of play

Băluță is primarily deployed as a

, but started out as a

. He has been likened to former Romanian international and

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

captain

, also a native of

Dolj County Dolj County (; originally meant ''Dol(no)- Jiu'', "lower Jiu", as opposed to ''Gorj'' (''upper Jiu'')) is a county ( județ) of Romania on the border with Bulgaria, in Oltenia, with the capital city at Craiova. Demographics In 2011, the cou ...

, who in his turn described Băluță as an "intelligent player" with "exceptional qualities".

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Viitorul Constanța *

: 2016–17 *

: 2018–19 *

Supercupa României The Supercupa României ( en, Romanian Supercup) is a Romanian football championship contested by the winners of the Liga I and the Cupa României. It is usually played at the Arena Națională in Bucharest. The competition started off in 1994, ...

runner-up:

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

Dynamo Kyiv *

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

Ukrainian Cup The Ukrainian Cup ( uk, Кубок України) is an association football national knockout cup competition run by the Ukrainian Association of Football. The competition is conducted almost exclusively among professional clubs. Since the 2003� ...

Farul Constanța *Liga I:

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

*Supercupa României runner-up:

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

Individual *''

Gazeta Sporturilor ''Gazeta Sporturilor'' ( en, The Sports Gazette) is a daily Romanian newspaper, and the country's largest and most read sports-related publication. It is owned by Ringier Sportal S.R.L—a joint venture of Ringier Romania S.R.L. and the Bulgarian ...

'' Romania Player of the Month: May 2023 *Liga I Team of the Season:

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Baluta, Tudor 1999 births Living people Footballers from Craiova Romanian men's footballers Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders Liga I players FC Viitorul Constanța players Premier League players Ukrainian Premier League players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players ADO Den Haag players FC Dynamo Kyiv players FCV Farul Constanța players Romania men's youth international footballers Romania men's international footballers Olympic footballers for Romania Footballers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Romanian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Romanian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Romanian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in Ukraine Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Ukraine