Ezgjan Alioski is on the move again this summer, with the former Leeds United ace set to return to Europe to continue his playing career.
A cult hero at Leeds United, Gjanni Alioski spent four years with the Whites having joined the club in 2017 from Swiss side FC Lugano.
It was under Marcelo Bielsa’s tutelage that he played the best football of his career. The Argentine utilised Alioski in a variety of different roles and Alioski was in Bielsa’s first ever Leeds line up, too.
Patrick Bamford claims he would hate to play against Alioski but seldom few Leeds players have had to face him other than at international level.
Dan James and Wales played Alioski but he has been plying his trade in club football out in the Middle East with Al-Ahli in recent years.
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Leeds icon Gjanni Alioski’s emotional FC Lugano homecoming
Alioski was forced out to Fenerbahce on loan momentarily after Al-Ahli filled the available European spots in their squad with a host of other, more high-profile additions.
He featured far more often in a Leeds shirt, with the North Macedonian known for his energetic running. He went on to play 170 times for Leeds in numerous different roles and positions, scoring 22 goals and claiming 19 assists in the process.
Leeds first signed him from Lugano for a fee of around £3 million (The Yorkshire Evening Post) as a right-sided winger, but he would often occupy roles at left-back and on the left wing. His national team often play Alioski as a left-sided wing-back.
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A versatile utility man, Alioski wanted to leave Saudi Arabia to come back to Switzerland, which is where his youth career started. Alioski’s return to Europe has been mooted for some time now.
His wish appears to have come true, with Lugano re-signing the 33-year-old after his contract ended with Al-Ahli. It’s an emotional return to a club where he scored or assisted 36 goals in 54 appearances.
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Gjanni Alioski’s previous praise of Bielsa’s winning mentality at Leeds
It’s fair to say Alioski’s best years of his career came with Leeds and three of them were under Bielsa after a first season of Thomas Christiansen and Paul Heckingbottom.
Speaking via Goal in 2019, Alioski explained Bielsa’s winning mentality was vital to the squad and their belief. He said: “It’s not better to lose when you have Bielsa as a coach. He hates losing.
“He spoke with us and told us what we must do to improve. We know next time we lose we will have a hard week. It’s good to have a coach that hates to lose.”
“The confidence is here. All of the players must believe, we work hard and we do all the right things that we think we should do to be where we want.”