Where are they now: Freddie Veseli
A fascinating post-Vale career has seen the defender play in Euro 2016 and Serie A in Italy…
Prior to Vale
Veseli has the rare honour of being in the youth ranks of both Manchester United and Manchester City. Unable to make the breakthrough at United he joined Ipswich Town in 2013.
His Vale spell
In July 2014, the defender signed on loan with Port Vale for the first-half of the season. He impressed enough to join Vale on a permanent basis in the January transfer window but rejected a contract offer in the summer.
Post Vale
Having rejected Vale, Veseli signed for Swiss side Lugano in the summer of 2015. His side reached the final of the Swiss cup but it was a bittersweet game for Veseli who was sent-off in the closing stages as his side lost 1-0. His performances for Lugano were enough to earn Veseli International caps for Albania and he was part of his country’s squad for the Euro 2016 championship. He appeared as a sub in one of the group games.
In August 2016 Veseli signed a contract with Empoli and played 16 games in Serie A. Unfortunately, Empoli were relegated to the second tier. Veseli was one of just three players not to be released and in August 2017 he signed a new four-year deal with the club.