Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | James Balagizi[1] | ||
Date of birth | 20 September 2003 | ||
Place of birth | Manchester, England[2] | ||
Height | 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)[2] | ||
Position(s) | Attacking midfielder | ||
Team information | |||
Current team |
Kilmarnock (on loan from Liverpool) | ||
Number | 14 | ||
Youth career | |||
Liverpool | |||
Manchester City | |||
Liverpool | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2021– | Liverpool | 0 | (0) |
2022–2023 | → Crawley Town (loan) | 14 | (2) |
2023–2024 | → Wigan Athletic (loan) | 3 | (0) |
2024– | → Kilmarnock (loan) | 4 | (0) |
International career‡ | |||
2019 | England U16 | 5 | (0) |
2019 | England U17 | 2 | (0) |
2021 | England U18 | 1 | (0) |
2021– | England U19 | 7 | (0) |
2021– | England U20 | 3 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:53, 1 April 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20:24, 27 September 2022 (UTC) |
James Balagizi (born 20 September 2003) is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Kilmarnock, on loan from Premier League club Liverpool.
Born in Manchester, Balagizi started his career with Liverpool, before joining Manchester City at the age of six.[3] After Manchester City decided against enrolling him at St Bede's College, Balagizi and his family decided to return to Liverpool, and he rejoined at under-11 level for a compensation fee of £9,000.[4][5]
Balagizi progressed well through the youth ranks at Liverpool, and is seen as one of their brightest prospects, despite a string of injuries limiting his youth team development.[6][7] He signed his first professional contract in September 2020.[5]
He was named on the bench for the senior squad for the first time in a 3–0 EFL Cup win over Norwich City in September 2021.[8]
On 30 June 2022, Balagizi signed for Crawley Town on a season long loan. He would score twice in a 3-2 loss at home to Northampton Town. He would score his third Crawley goal in the Carabao Cup in a 2-0 win over Fulham.[9] He was recalled to Liverpool on 20 January 2023 after sustaining an injury, having made sixteen appearances and scored three goals for Crawley.[10]
On 19 July 2023, he joined EFL League One club Wigan Athletic on loan for the 2023–24 season. On 4 January 2024, Liverpool recalled Balagizi from his loan.[11] He subsequently joined Kilmarnock on loan until the end of the season.[12]
Balagizi was born in England and is of Zimbabwean and DR Congolese descent.[13] He has represented England at numerous youth levels.[2][5]
On 21 September 2022, Balagizi made his England U20 debut as a substitute during a 3-0 victory over Chile at the Pinatar Arena.[14]
Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Liverpool U21 | 2020–21[16] | — | — | — | — | 1[a] | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||||
Liverpool | 2021–22 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Crawley Town (loan) | 2022–23[17] | League Two | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 3 |
Wigan Athletic (loan) | 2023–24[18] | League One | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[a] | 0 | 7 | 0 |
Career total | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 24 | 3 |