1. Overview
Albian Afrim Ajeti, born on February 26, 1997, is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a striker for Swiss Super League club Basel. Known for his prolific goal-scoring abilities, Ajeti has traversed various top-flight leagues across Europe, including stints in the Swiss Super League, German Bundesliga, English Premier League, and Scottish Premiership. He has notably played for FC Basel across three different spells, FC Augsburg, FC St. Gallen, West Ham United, Celtic, Sturm Graz, and Gaziantep. Ajeti has also represented Switzerland at multiple youth levels and made his senior international debut in 2018.
2. Early Life and Background
Albian Ajeti was born in Basel, Switzerland, on February 26, 1997. He is of Albanian descent and is fluent in the Albanian language, which he uses with his family. His older brother, Arlind Ajeti, is also a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Pordenone and the Albanian national team. Albian also has a twin brother, Adonis Ajeti, who most recently played for FC St. Gallen.
2.1. Childhood and Youth Football
Albian Ajeti began his youth football career with FC Basel in 2005, joining the club alongside his twin brother, Adonis, and at the same time his elder brother, Arlind, also moved to Basel from Concordia. He progressed through Basel's youth ranks, playing for their U-16 team during the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons. With the U-16 team, Ajeti became the Swiss Champion twice consecutively. In the 2012-13 season, he also played for the club's U-18 team. On April 30, 2013, both Albian and Adonis Ajeti signed their first professional contracts with FC Basel, officially integrating into the first team squad. During the 2013-14 season, he was called up to the U-21 team. Throughout his time with the Basel U-21 team, he made 40 appearances and scored 18 goals.
3. Club Career
Albian Ajeti's professional football career began at FC Basel before moving through several clubs in different European leagues, including Germany, England, Scotland, and Turkey, before returning to Basel for a third time.
3.1. FC Basel (first period)
Before the 2013-14 FC Basel season, Albian Ajeti participated in a number of test games for FC Basel. He scored the winning goal in a 3-2 victory against RB Leipzig on June 26, 2013, during the club's training camp in Walchensee. Although he spent most of the 2013-14 season playing with the FCB U-21 team in the 1. Liga Promotion, which is the third tier of the Swiss Football League, he was frequently called up to the first team and took a place on the substitute bench.
Ajeti made his professional debut as a substitute on March 13, 2014, in the 2013-14 UEFA Europa League Round of 16 home match against Red Bull Salzburg at St. Jakob-Park, which ended in a goalless draw. On April 6, 2014, he made his league debut against FC Thun in another goalless draw at St. Jakob-Park. At the end of the 2013-14 Super League season, Ajeti won the league championship with Basel. The team also reached the final of the 2013-14 Swiss Cup, but lost 2-0 to Zürich after extra time. In the 2013-14 Champions League season, Basel advanced to the group stage, finishing third in their group, which qualified them for the Europa League knockout phase, where they reached the quarter-finals.
The 2014-15 season was successful for both Ajeti and Basel. The club secured their sixth consecutive league championship in the 2014-15 season and reached the final of the 2014-15 Swiss Cup, where they finished as runners-up for the third season in a row, losing 0-3 to FC Sion. Basel entered the Champions League in the group stage and advanced to the knockout phase after a 1-1 draw against Liverpool at Anfield on December 9, 2014. However, they were subsequently eliminated by Porto in the Round of 16. Under trainer Paulo Sousa, Ajeti made a total of 16 appearances during the 2014-15 season, including 4 in the league, 2 in the cup, and 10 in test games, scoring 3 goals in the test matches. He also continued to play for the U-21 team. For the 2015-16 season, Ajeti made 5 league appearances, 3 cup appearances, and 3 continental appearances for Basel.
3.2. FC Augsburg
On January 8, 2016, Ajeti signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with German club FC Augsburg for a transfer fee of 3.00 M EUR. He made a solitary Bundesliga appearance for Augsburg on March 12, 2016, coming on as a 54th-minute substitute in a 2-2 draw against Darmstadt. During his time with Augsburg, he also played for their reserve team, FC Augsburg II, in the Regionalliga Bayern. He made 5 appearances and scored 2 goals in the 2015-16 Regionalliga season, and 1 appearance in the 2016-17 season.
3.3. FC St. Gallen
For the 2016-17 Swiss Super League season, Ajeti was loaned to St. Gallen on a one-year deal that included an option for the club to purchase him permanently. At the end of that season, St. Gallen exercised the option and signed Ajeti. During the 2016-17 season, he made 29 league appearances, scoring 10 goals, and also made 1 appearance in the Swiss Cup, scoring 1 goal. In the early part of the 2017-18 season, before his return to Basel, Ajeti played 7 league games for St. Gallen, scoring 3 goals, and made 1 appearance in the Swiss Cup.
3.4. FC Basel (second period)
On October 2, 2017, FC Basel announced that Ajeti had returned to the club, signing a five-year contract. He quickly made an impact, scoring on his debut for Basel on October 14, 2017, in a 4-0 away victory against Lugano. In Basel's final five games of the 2017-18 season, Ajeti scored seven goals, which brought his total for the 2017-18 Swiss Super League season to 17. With 14 of those goals scored for Basel, he became the club's top scorer and the overall Swiss Super League top scorer for the season. In the following season, Ajeti once again scored 14 league goals for the club.
Under trainer Marcel Koller, Basel won the 2018-19 Swiss Cup in the 2018-19 season. Basel's path to the final included away victories against lower-division FC Montlingen in the first round, Echallens Région in the second round, and Winterthur in the round of 16. In the quarter-finals, they defeated FC Sion, and in the semi-finals, they overcame FC Zürich. The final was held on May 19, 2019, at the Stade de Suisse Wankdorf Bern against FC Thun. Ajeti scored the opening goal for Basel, followed by a second goal from Fabian Frei, securing a 2-1 victory for Basel despite a goal from Thun's Dejan Sorgić. On July 19, 2019, in his final Swiss Super League appearance for Basel before his next transfer, Ajeti scored the opening goal and provided two assists in a 4-1 away win against Sion during the 2019-20 season. Overall in this second spell, he made 58 league appearances and scored 29 goals, with 6 cup appearances (5 goals) and 11 continental appearances (3 goals).
3.5. West Ham United
On August 8, 2019, Ajeti joined West Ham United in England, signing a four-year contract for a reported fee of 8.00 M GBP. He made his debut for the club on August 27, 2019, starting in a 2-0 victory against Newport County in the EFL Cup. During his time at West Ham, he made 9 appearances in the Premier League, 1 in the FA Cup, and 2 in the EFL Cup, but did not score.
3.6. Celtic
Ajeti transferred to Celtic in Scotland on August 13, 2020, signing a four-year deal for a reported fee of 5.00 M GBP. He made his league debut for Celtic on August 22, 2020, against Dundee United. Coming on as a substitute in the 73rd minute, he scored the winning goal in the 83rd minute, securing a 1-0 victory.
During the 2020-21 season, he made 20 appearances in the Scottish Premiership, scoring 6 goals. He also played 3 matches in the later stages of the 2019-20 Scottish Cup, which were played in October and December 2020, and 1 match in the Scottish League Cup. In continental competitions, he made 2 appearances in the UEFA Champions League and 5 appearances in the UEFA Europa League. In the 2021-22 season, he made 7 Scottish Premiership appearances, scoring 2 goals. He also played in 3 Scottish League Cup matches and 7 continental matches (2 in UEFA Champions League, 5 in UEFA Europa League, scoring 1 goal in the latter).
3.6.1. SK Sturm Graz (loan)
On August 31, 2022, while still under contract with Celtic, Ajeti was sent on a season-long loan to Austrian Bundesliga side Sturm Graz. The loan agreement included an option to buy. He played 15 matches in the Austrian Bundesliga, scoring 3 goals, and made 3 appearances in the Austrian Cup, scoring 1 goal. He also participated in 5 continental matches. On May 29, 2023, Ajeti returned to Celtic after Sturm Graz decided not to trigger the buy-option clause.
3.7. Gaziantep FK
On September 4, 2023, Süper Lig club Gaziantep announced the signing of Ajeti on a one-year contract, with an option for a further year, for an undisclosed fee. As of current information, he has made no appearances for the club.
3.8. FC Basel (third period)
On February 1, 2024, Albian Ajeti made his third return to Basel, signing a contract until June 30, 2025, with an option to extend.
4. International Career
Albian Ajeti has represented Switzerland at various youth levels before making his debut for the senior national team.
4.1. Youth National Teams
Ajeti made appearances for the Switzerland U-15 and U-16 national teams. He made his debut for the U-17 team on October 10, 2012, coming on as a substitute in a 3-0 win against the Faroe Islands U-17. Just two days later, he scored his first goal for the team during a 5-1 victory against Cyprus U-17. In total, he played 17 games for the U-17 team, scoring 7 goals.
His debut for the Swiss U-18 team occurred on September 4, 2014, in an away game against the Swedish U-18 team in Gävle, which Switzerland won 1-0, with Ajeti scoring the winning goal in the 88th minute. He played 3 games and scored 2 goals for the U-18 team. Ajeti made his debut for the U-20 national team on March 31, 2015, in a 1-0 defeat to the Italian U-20 team. He made 1 appearance for the U-20 team. Additionally, he played 8 games for the Swiss U-21 team. In August 2015, Albania's coach, Gianni de Biasi, publicly stated his intention to call Ajeti for Albania's Euro 2016 qualifying matches in October 2015.
4.2. Senior National Team
Albian Ajeti earned his first appearance for the senior Switzerland national team on September 8, 2018. He came on as a substitute for Breel Embolo and scored his first international goal in a dominant 6-0 victory against Iceland in the UEFA Nations League. In May 2019, he participated in the 2019 UEFA Nations League Finals, where his team finished in 4th place. He has made 11 appearances for the senior Switzerland national team, scoring 1 goal.
5. Personal Life
Albian Ajeti stands at 72 in (183 cm) tall. He was born in Basel, Switzerland, and comes from an Albanian family, maintaining fluency in the Albanian language, which is his family's native tongue. His footballing talent is shared with his siblings; his older brother, Arlind Ajeti, is a professional centre-back who plays for Pordenone and represents the Albanian national team. His twin brother, Adonis Ajeti, also played professional football, notably for FC St. Gallen.
6. Career Statistics
6.1. Club
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Basel | 2013-14 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | ||
| 2014-15 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | |||
| 2015-16 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | - | 3 | 0 | 11 | 2 | |||
| Total | 11 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 4 | ||
| FC Augsburg II | 2015-16 | 5 | 2 | - | - | - | 5 | 2 | ||||
| 2016-17 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | 1 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | ||
| FC Augsburg | 2015-16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 1 | 0 | |||
| St. Gallen (loan) | 2016-17 | 29 | 10 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 30 | 11 | |||
| St. Gallen | 2017-18 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 8 | 3 | |||
| Basel | 2017-18 | 25 | 14 | 1 | 0 | - | 3 | 0 | 29 | 14 | ||
| 2018-19 | 32 | 14 | 5 | 5 | - | 6 | 2 | 43 | 21 | |||
| 2019-20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | |||
| Total | 58 | 29 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 75 | 37 | ||
| West Ham United | 2019-20 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | 12 | 0 | ||
| Celtic | 2020-21 | 20 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 31 | 6 | |
| 2021-22 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 17 | 3 | ||
| Total | 27 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 48 | 9 | ||
| Sturm Graz (loan) | 2022-23 | 15 | 3 | 3 | 1 | - | 5 | 0 | 23 | 4 | ||
| Gaziantep | 2023-24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 163 | 58 | 20 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 34 | 4 | 223 | 70 | ||
- Note 1: Two appearances and one goal in UEFA Champions League, four appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League.
- Note 2: Includes one appearance in the later stages of the 2019-20 Scottish Cup, which were played in October and December 2020.
- Note 3: Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, five appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League.
6.2. International
Scores and results list Switzerland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ajeti goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 8, 2018 | Kybunpark, St. Gallen, Switzerland | 1 | Iceland | 5-0 | 6-0 | 2018-19 UEFA Nations League A |
7. Honours
7.1. Youth
- Swiss U16 Champion: 2011-12, 2012-13 (with Basel Youth)
7.2. Club
- Swiss Super League: 2014-15 (with Basel)
- Swiss Cup: 2018-19 (with Basel); runner-up: 2014-15 (with Basel)
- Scottish Premiership: 2021-22 (with Celtic)
- Scottish Cup: 2019-20 (with Celtic)
- Scottish League Cup: 2021-22 (with Celtic)
- Austrian Cup: 2022-23 (with Sturm Graz)
7.3. Individual
- Swiss Super League top scorer: 2017-18 (17 goals)