Cătălin Ionuț Cîrjan (Romanian pronunciation: [kətəˈlin joˈnut͡s kɨrˈʒan]; born 1 December 2002) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Liga I club Dinamo București.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Cătălin Ionuț Cîrjan | ||
| Date of birth | 1 December 2002 | ||
| Place of birth | Bucharest, Romania | ||
| Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Dinamo București | ||
| Number | 10 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2019 | Viitorul Domnești | ||
| 2019–2023 | Arsenal | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2023–2024 | Arsenal | 0 | (0) |
| 2023–2024 | → Rapid București (loan) | 17 | (0) |
| 2024– | Dinamo București | 16 | (4) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2018 | Romania U16 | 1 | (0) |
| 2023– | Romania U21 | 3 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 8 November 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 10 September 2024 | |||
Club career
editEarly career / Arsenal
editDuring his junior years, Cîrjan was part of the youth setup of lower league team Viitorul Domnești,[1][2][3][4] before moving to Premier League club Arsenal in July 2019.[5][6][7]
Serious knee injuries during his time in London sidelined his development for over a year. On 24 May 2022 however, it was announced that Cîrjan had agreed to a new contract with Arsenal.[8] After his appearance in a friendly with Boreham Wood, Cîrjan experienced a 480-day gap before returning to action in an under-21 match in August 2022. By the following month, he resumed training with the first-team squad.[9]
On 23 June 2023, after several weeks of rumours,[10] Cîrjan returned to Romania by signing for Liga I club Rapid București on a one-year loan.[11] He made his debut as a senior in a goalless league draw with Sepsi OSK on 14 July. During his spell, Cîrjan started in only seven out of 17 Liga I appearances and did not score any goals.
In the summer of 2024, Cîrjan left Arsenal upon the expiration of his contract.[12]
Dinamo București
editOn 13 June 2024, Cîrjan agreed to a three-year contract with Rapid București's cross-town rivals Dinamo București,[13] being assigned the number 10 jersey. He started and scored on debut on 14 July, in a 2–3 away Liga I loss to CFR Cluj.[14] He scored again one week later, in a 4–1 home win over Petrolul Ploiești.[15]
As a result of his efficient start to the season, Cîrjan was named Romania Player of the Month for July 2024 by the Gazeta Sporturilor website.[16]
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of match played 8 November 2024[17]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Rapid București (loan) | 2023–24 | Liga I | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 0 | ||
| Dinamo București | 2024–25 | 16 | 4 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 18 | 5 | |||
| Career total | 33 | 4 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 37 | 5 | ||||
References
edit- ^ "Cătălin Cîrjan, cel mai promițător fotbalist român. Englezii pariază că va ajunge un star. "Mă antrenez cu jucători pe care îi alegeam pe PlayStation"". liga2.prosport.ro.
- ^ "Catalin Cirjan, noua senzatie a lui Arsenal! Povestea pustiului care a plecat din Liga 3, direct la clubul de pe Emirates". sport.ro.
- ^ "Românul care la 10 ani juca în Liga a 4-a i-a cucerit pe fanii lui Arsenal. Cum l-au poreclit". eurosport.ro. Archived from the original on 8 March 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Arsenal may have their own Anthony Elanga in the first-team after impressing Arteta". Archived from the original on 30 August 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Catalin Cirjan remains very highly-rated at Arsenal". tbrfootball.com.
- ^ "Arsenal make major decision on wonderkid after impressive debut season". football.london.
- ^ "Catalin Carjan reveals how Arsenal convinced him to complete transfer". metro.co.uk.
- ^ "Catalin Cirjan signs new contract". Arsenal.com.
- ^ "Arsenal's dressing room helped Catalin Cirjan battle back – he's now pushing for first team". The Athletic.
- ^ "EXCLUSIV Lovituri URIAȘE pregătite de Rapid: Șucu vrea titlul cu Balotelli, marea speranță a lui Arsenal și un ex-jucător de la Barça! Condiția pusă de SuperMario" [EXCLUSIVE HUGE hits prepared by Rapid: Șucu wants the title with Balotelli, Arsenal's great hope and an ex-Barça player! The condition set by SuperMario]. Gazeta Sporturilor (in Romanian). 12 May 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
- ^ "OFICIAL - Rapid, transfer pentru titlu în SuperLiga" [OFFICIAL - Rapid, transfer for winning the SuperLiga title] (in Romanian). Hotnews.ro. 23 June 2023.
- ^ "22 players to depart Arsenal at end of contacts". Arsenal FC. 3 June 2024. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
- ^ Turcu, Luminița (13 June 2024). "FC Dinamo anunţă transferul jucătorului Cătălin Cîrjan" [FC Dinamo announces the transfer of player Cătălin Cîrjan] (in Romanian). News.ro.
- ^ "VIDEO Cătălin Cîrjan a reușit în 14 minute la Dinamo ce n-a putut tot sezonul trecut la Rapid" [VIDEO Cătălin Cîrjan managed in 14 minutes at Dinamo what he couldn't do the entire last season at Rapid] (in Romanian). Digi Sport. 14 July 2024. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
- ^ "Dinamo București vs. Petrolul 52 - 21 July 2024". Soccerway. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
- ^ ""Ne batem pentru play-off!". Cătălin Cîrjan, jucătorul lunii iulie, are planuri mari la Dinamo" ["We fight for the play-offs!". Cătălin Cîrjan, the July Player of the Month, has big plans at Dinamo]. Gazeta Sporturilor. 6 August 2024. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
- ^ Cătălin Cîrjan at Soccerway. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
External links
edit- Cătălin Cîrjan – Romanian league stats at LPF (in Romanian)