Cătălin Cîrjan | |
Fullname: | Cătălin Ionuț Cîrjan |
Birth Date: | 1 December 2002 |
Birth Place: | Bucharest, Romania |
Height: | 1.74 m |
Position: | Midfielder |
Currentclub: | Dinamo București |
Clubnumber: | 10 |
Youthyears2: | 2019–2023 |
Youthclubs2: | Arsenal |
Youthyears1: | –2019 |
Youthclubs1: | Viitorul Domnești |
Years1: | 2022–2024 |
Caps1: | 0 |
Goals1: | 0 |
Years2: | 2023–2024 |
Clubs2: | → Rapid București (loan) |
Caps2: | 17 |
Goals2: | 0 |
Years3: | 2024– |
Clubs3: | Dinamo București |
Caps3: | 4 |
Goals3: | 2 |
Nationalyears1: | 2018 |
Nationalteam1: | Romania U16 |
Nationalcaps1: | 1 |
Nationalgoals1: | 0 |
Nationalyears2: | 2023– |
Nationalteam2: | Romania U21 |
Nationalcaps2: | 1 |
Nationalgoals2: | 0 |
Club-Update: | 3 August 2024 |
Nationalteam-Update: | 12 September 2023 |
Cătălin Ionuț Cîrjan (in Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan pronounced as / kətəˈlin joˈnut͡s kɨrˈʒan/; born 1 December 2002) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Liga I club Dinamo București.
During 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]
On 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]
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 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 2 | |||||
Career total | 23 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 25 | 2 |