Riad Bajić (; born 6 May 1994) is a Bosnian professional footballer who plays as a forward for 1. Lig club Ankaragücü. Bajić started his professional career at Željezničar, before joining Konyaspor in 2015. Two years later, he signed with Udinese, who loaned him to İstanbul Başakşehir in 2018, back to Konyaspor in 2019, to Ascoli in 2020 and to

Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...

in 2021. The following year, he moved to Giresunspor. In 2023, he switched to Ankaragücü. A former youth international for

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

, Bajić made his senior international debut in 2017, earning 12 caps until 2019.

Club career

Željezničar

Bajić came through the youth academy of his hometown club Željezničar, which he joined in 2003. In May 2013, he signed his first professional contract with the team. He made his professional debut against Zvijezda Gradačac on 27 July at the age of 19. On 19 October, he scored his first professional goal in a triumph over Mladost Velika Obarska. Bajić scored his first career

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

in a defeat of Zvijezda Gradačac on 27 September 2014. With 15 goals, he finished the 2014–15 season as Bosnian Premier League top scorer.

Konyaspor

In August 2015, Bajić moved to Turkish outfit Konyaspor on a three-year deal. He made his official debut for the side on 15 August against Akhisarspor. On 17 October, he scored his first goal for the club in a victory over Gaziantepspor. In January 2017, he prolonged his contract with the squad until June 2020. That season Bajić finished as team top scorer. His 17 goals were the most league goals scored by a Konyaspor player in a single campaign, beating the previous mark of 13 set by Theofanis Gekas. He won his first title with Konyaspor, club's first trophy ever, on 31 May, by defeating İstanbul Başakşehir in the Turkish Cup final.

Udinese

In August, Bajić was transferred to Italian side Udinese for an undisclosed fee. He made his competitive debut for the squad in a

Coppa Italia Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...

game against Frosinone on 12 August. Five weeks later, he made his league debut against

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

. In January 2018, he was sent on a six-month loan to İstanbul Başakşehir. In June, his loan was extended for an additional season. In June 2019, Bajić was loaned to his former team Konyaspor until the end of the season. In September 2020, he was sent on a season-long loan to Ascoli. In July 2021, he was loaned to

for the remainder of the campaign.

Later stage of career

In July 2022, Bajić joined Giresunspor. In June 2023, he switched to Ankaragücü.

International career

Bajić represented

at various youth levels. In March 2015, he received his first senior call up, for a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifier against

Andorra Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra, is a Sovereignty, sovereign landlocked country on the Iberian Peninsula, in the eastern Pyrenees in Southwestern Europe, Andorra–France border, bordered by France to the north and Spain to A ...

and a friendly game against

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, but had to wait until 25 March 2017 to make his debut in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier against

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

Personal life

Bajić married his long-time girlfriend Sanita in September 2019. Together they have a son named Dal.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Konyaspor * Turkish Cup: 2016–17 Individual * Bosnian Premier League top goalscorer: 2014–15

References

External links