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Saidy Janko
Saidy Janko (cropped).jpg
Janko in 2024
Personal information
Full name Saidy Janko
Date of birth (1995-10-22) 22 October 1995 (age 29)
Place of birth Zürich, Switzerland
Height 1.81 m
Playing position Right-back
Club information
Current club Young Boys
Number 17
Youth career
2011–2013 FC Zürich
2013–2014 Manchester United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2015 Manchester United 0 (0)
2015 Bolton Wanderers (loan) 10 (1)
2015–2017 Celtic 12 (0)
2016–2017 Barnsley (loan) 14 (1)
2017–2018 Saint-Étienne 21 (0)
2017–2018 Saint-Étienne B 4 (0)
2018–2020 Porto 0 (0)
2018–2019 Nottingham Forest (loan) 15 (0)
2019–2020 Young Boys (loan) 33 (0)
2020–2023 Valladolid 34 (0)
2022–2023 VfL Bochum (loan) 20 (0)
2023– Young Boys 30 (0)
National team
2012–2013 Switzerland U18 6 (0)
2013–2014 Switzerland U19 7 (1)
2014–2016 Switzerland U20 3 (0)
2014–2015 Switzerland U21 4 (0)
2021– Gambia 10 (0)
  • Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 27 May 2024.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19 January 2024

Saidy Janko (born 22 October 1995) is a professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Swiss club BSC Young Boys. Born in Switzerland, he played international football for Switzerland up to under-21 level before switching to play for the Gambia national team at senior level.

Janko began his career with FC Zürich before signing for Manchester United in 2013. After a loan spell with Bolton Wanderers, Janko moved to Scottish club Celtic in 2015. He had a loan to Barnsley before moving to Saint-Étienne permanently in July 2017.

Club career

Manchester United

Janko began his career at FC Zürich. He joined Manchester United on summer transfer deadline day in 2013. He was one of only three signings made by David Moyes during the 2013 summer transfer window. In his first season, he was voted the Reserve Player of the Year. On 26 August 2014, he made his first-team debut in a League Cup match against Milton Keynes Dons, playing the first half before being substituted for fellow debutant Andreas Pereira as United lost 4–0.

On 2 February 2015, transfer deadline day, Janko joined Championship club Bolton Wanderers on loan for the rest of the season, with Andy Kellett going in the opposite direction for the same period. He made his debut for the club on 10 February, starting in a 3–1 league win over Fulham at the Macron Stadium. He crossed to assist Eiður Guðjohnsen's equaliser before half time, before scoring himself in the 80th minute from 25 yards out.

Celtic

On 1 July 2015, Celtic announced that they had signed Janko on a four-year contract. He made his debut nine days later, coming on as a substitute for Gary Mackay-Steven 75 minutes into Celtic's 1–0 win over Real Sociedad in a pre-season friendly at St. Mirren Park. Janko made his competitive debut on 1 August, coming on as a second-half substitute during Celtic's 2–0 win over Ross County in the opening league match of the Scottish Premiership season.

On 31 August 2016, Janko joined Championship club Barnsley on a one-year loan deal. He scored on his debut in a 4–0 away win against Wolverhampton Wanderers on 13 September.

Saint-Étienne

On 7 July 2017, Janko left Celtic for French Ligue 1 club Saint-Étienne, signing a four-year contract.

Porto

Janko moved to Portuguese club FC Porto on a five-year contract on 17 June 2018. He returned to the EFL Championship on 31 August that year, joining Nottingham Forest on loan for the 2018–19 season.

On 1 July 2019, Janko entered football in his native country for the first time in his career, being loaned to Young Boys for the Swiss Super League season. He scored his first goal on 14 September in the second round of the Swiss Cup, in an 11–2 win at fifth-tier FC Freienbach. In total Saidy played 46 official matches, starting 38 of them, as they won the double (Super League and Cup).

Valladolid

On 1 October 2020, Real Valladolid signed Janko on a four-year contract to end in 2024, for an undisclosed fee. He made his debut in La Liga 24 days later in a 2–0 home loss to Deportivo Alavés.

On 27 June 2022, VfL Bochum announced the signing of Janko on a season-long loan, with an option to buy at the end of the spell.

Young Boys

On 30 June 2023, Real Valladolid announced that Janko had joined Swiss side Young Boys, where he had previously played on loan while a Porto player, on a permanent basis.

International career

Janko was born in Zürich to a Gambian father and an Italian mother. He was a youth international for Switzerland from 2012 to 2015, before opting to represent the Gambia in 2021. He made his debut for the Gambia national team in a 2–0 friendly loss to Sierra Leone on 9 October 2021.

He played in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, his national team's first continental tournament, where they reached the quarter-finals.

Personal life

He is the brother of fellow professional footballer Lenny Janko.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Manchester United 2014–15 Premier League 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
Bolton Wanderers (loan) 2014–15 Championship 10 1 0 0 10 1
Celtic 2015–16 Scottish Premiership 10 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 13 0
2016–17 2 0 0 0 1 0 4 0 7 0
Total 12 0 0 0 2 0 6 0 20 0
Barnsley (loan) 2016–17 Championship 14 1 0 0 0 0 14 1
Saint-Étienne 2017–18 Ligue 1 21 0 0 0 1 0 22 0
Porto 2018–19 Primeira Liga 0 0 0 0
Nottingham Forest (loan) 2018–19 Championship 15 0 1 0 1 0 17 0
Young Boys (loan) 2019–20 Swiss Super League 33 0 5 1 8 1 46 2
Real Valladolid 2020–21 La Liga 19 0 0 0 19 0
2021–22 La Liga 2 15 0 1 0 15 0
Total 34 0 1 0 35 0
Bochum (loan) 2022–23 Bundesliga 20 0 3 0 23 0
Young Boys 2023–24 Swiss Super League 30 0 1 1 6 0 37 1
Career total 155 2 9 2 5 0 20 1 171 5

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Gambia 2021 3 0
2022 3 0
2023 2 0
2024 2 0
Total 10 0

Honours

Celtic

Young Boys

Individual

  • Denzil Haroun Reserve Player of the Year: 2013–14

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Saidy Janko para niños

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