Stefan Bajic (footballer, born 2001)

Stefan Bajic (Serbian Cyrillic: Стефан Бајић, romanized: Stefan Bajić; born 23 December 2001) is a French professional footballer who plays as goalkeeper for Ligue 2 club Valenciennes, on loan from EFL Championship club Bristol City.

Not to be confused with Stefan Bajic (footballer, born 1997).

Stefan Bajic
Bajic with Saint-Étienne in 2020
Personal information
Date of birth (2001-12-23) 23 December 2001
Place of birth Saint-Étienne, France
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
 Valenciennes
(on loan from Bristol City)
Number 1
Youth career
2007–2019 Saint-Étienne
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2022 Saint-Étienne B 25 (0)
2019–2022 Saint-Étienne 9 (0)
2022 Pau 15 (0)
2022– Bristol City 0 (0)
2023– → Valenciennes (loan) 10 (0)
International career‡
2016–2017 France U16 7 (0)
2017–2018 France U17 3 (0)
2018 France U18 1 (0)
2019 France U19 11 (0)
2021– France Olympic 0 (0)
2022– France U21 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:39, 20 January 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 28 March 2022

Bajic joined Saint-Étienne at age six, and over the years has climbed through the club's U17, U19 and reserve teams, breaking into the first team at age 18. He has represented France internationally at youth level, from the under-16s to the under-21s, as well as the Olympic team at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Early life

Bajic was born on 23 December 2001, in Saint-Étienne, France, and is of Serbian descent.[1]

Club career

Youth system

Bajic first joined Saint-Étienne at age six,[2] gradually progressing through the club's youth teams, before finding himself at the under-17 level. His performances in the Championnat National U17 earned him his first international call-up for the France national under-16 football team.[2]

2018–19 season

On 2 May 2018, Bajic signed his first professional contract, to the end of the 2020–21 season.[2]

On 8 April 2019, Bajic extended his contract for a further year.[3][4] Bajic also led the club's U19 team through its Coupe Gambardella campaign, which ended with a 2–0 victory over Toulouse's U19 side in the Final on 27 April.[5]

2019–20 season

After assistant coach Ghislain Printant took over from Gasset, Bajic became Saint-Étienne's third choice, surpassing Vermot.[6] Bajic made his senior debut on 25 September 2019, with both Ruffier and Moulin suffering from minor injuries. The game against Metz resulted in Saint-Étienne's fourth defeat in five games, with a scoreline of 1–0.[7] Bajic became the Greens' youngest-ever player to start a Ligue 1 match.[8]

2020–21 season

Bajic played in the Coupe de France fixture for the round of 64 on 11 February, against Sochaux, as Moulin felt discomfort in his hamstring,[9] which Saint-Étienne lost 1–0. After Moulin also contracted the disease and later injured his groin, Bajic played his first league game in over a year on 19 March; Saint-Étienne lost 4–0 to Monaco.

Pau

On 4 February 2022, Bajic signed with Pau in Ligue 2.[10]

Bristol City

On 5 July 2022, Bajic signed with Bristol City in the EFL Championship on a three year deal.[11]

On 19 January 2023, Bajic returned to France to join Valenciennes on loan until the end of the season.[12]

International career

Bajic was called up to represent the France national under-19 team at the 2019 UEFA European Under-19 Championship.[13]

Career statistics
As of 19 January 2023[14]
Appearances, goals, and clean sheets by club, season, and competition
Club Season League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Saint-Étienne B 2018–19 Championnat National 2 140——140
2019–20 Championnat National 2 100——100
2021–22 Championnat National 3 1 0 — — 1 0
Total 250——250
Saint-Étienne 2019–20 Ligue 1 10000010
2020–21 Ligue 1 1010—20
2021–22 Ligue 1 7 0 2 0 — 9 0
Total 903000120
Pau 2021–22 Ligue 2 15 0 0 0 — 15 0
Bristol City 2022–23 EFL Championship 0 0 0 0 1[lower-alpha 1] 0 1 0
Valenciennes (loan) 2022–23 Ligue 2 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
Career total 4903010530
  1. Appearance(s) in the EFL Cup

Honours

Saint-Étienne B

Saint-Étienne U19

References
  1. "Revivez le multiplex de Ligue 1 / Ligue 1 / J7 / Multiplex / SOFOOT.com".
  2. "First professional contract for Stefan Bajic". ASSE.fr.
  3. Le Figaro, Par (4 August 2019). "Bajic lié à Saint-Etienne jusqu'en 2022" [Bajic linked to Saint-Etienne until 2022]. LEFIGARO (in French). Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  4. "Saint-Étienne: Stefan Bajic prolonge un an" [Saint-Étienne: Stefan Bajic extends one year]. L'Équipe (in French). 8 April 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  5. Hagege, Luc (27 April 2019). "Saint-Étienne gagne sa quatrième Coupe Gambardella aux dépens de Toulouse" [Saint-Étienne wins his fourth Gambardella Cup at the expense of Toulouse]. L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 30 July 2019.
  6. Tanzi, Loïc (6 July 2020). "Saint-Etienne: Puel retient Stefan Bajic" [Saint-Etienne: Puel retains Stefan Bajic]. RMC SPORT (in French). Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  7. "Saint-Etienne vs. Metz - 25 September 2019 - Soccerway". us.soccerway.com.
  8. Chirat, Antoine (25 September 2019). "ASSE: Bajic, plus jeune gardien de l'histoire des Verts" [ASSE: Bajic, youngest goalkeeper in the history of the Greens]. Onze Mondial (in French). Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  9. Cotard, Jason (10 February 2021). "ASSE: la surprise que prépare Puel pour la Coupe de France" [ASSE: the surprise that Puel prepares for the Coupe de France]. Onze Mondial (in French). Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  10. "L'international espoirs" (Press release) (in French). Pau. 4 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  11. "BAJIC IS A ROBIN". Bristol City. 5 July 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  12. "📣 BAJIC JOINS VALENCIENNES FC ON LOAN". www.bcfc.co.uk. 19 January 2023. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  13. "U19 : Bajic et Abi vers l'Euro ! - ASSE - EVECT". EVECT.fr.
  14. Stefan Bajic at Soccerway
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