Haris Vučkić


Haris Vučkić is a Slovenian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder.
Vučkić has represented Slovenia international youth selections in every category. He has made his senior debut against Scotland on 29 February 2012.

Club career

Domžale

Born in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Vučkić played football at NK Domžale from Domžale, a small town in central Slovenia, during his youth.
A few months short of his 16th birthday he made a debut for the club against NK Celje in a Slovenian PrvaLiga match on 24 May 2008 coming on as a late substitute. As he was too young according to Football Association of Slovenia rules, his club was fined. After turning 16 in August 2008 he was finally promoted to the club's first squad where he would go on to play another four league games, before signing for English Premier League club Newcastle United.

Newcastle United

On 16 January 2009, it was confirmed that Vučkić would sign for Premier League side Newcastle United for a substantial fee and signed a three-and-a-half-year deal at St. James' Park. At the time, he was regarded as one of Europe's brightest talents and reports suggested he underwent a trial at AC Milan.
Vučkić made his first appearance for Newcastle's reserve team on 16 February 2009 when he came off the bench to score the winning goal against Blackburn reserves, curling a left-footed shot into the bottom corner from 20 yards. He scored his first goal for the U18 team in his league debut in a 4–2 away win at Derby.
He has scored three goals altogether for the reserves, two league goals for the U18s and five more in 2009–10 pre-season friendlies. Vučkić made his Newcastle United debut on 26 August 2009 as a late substitute in a League Cup tie with Huddersfield Town, where he played on the left wing. Five days later Vučkić came off the bench to replace striker Nile Ranger in a 1–0 victory over Leicester City. This was to be his first league appearance for the club.
Vučkić scored his first senior goal for Newcastle against Carlisle United in a friendly on 17 July 2010 with a curled effort into the bottom left hand corner. In the 2010–2011 campaign, Newcastle manager Chris Hughton gave many of the youngsters a chance in the Football League Cup, Vučkić played in the second round tie against Accrington Stanley in central midfield alongside fellow youngster Ryan Donaldson. After Newcastle progressed with a 3–2 victory, he played in the third round away game to Chelsea, where Newcastle overcame expectations to win 4–3 in a thrilling encounter. He continued his impressive display against Arsenal in the League Cup fourth round getting the Man of the Match award despite Newcastle United losing 4–0. In January 2011 Vučkić signed a new -year contract with Newcastle.
On 26 July 2011, Vučkić went on to score again for Newcastle, scoring the final goal in a 3–0 win over MLS side Columbus Crew. In Newcastle United's next pre-season friendly against Leeds United at Elland Road, Vučkić went on to score Newcastle's second goal and provided an impressive display since coming on despite Newcastle losing the game 3–2. He made his Premier League debut on 28 August 2011 against Fulham as a 78th-minute substitute, but was himself substituted seven minutes later with a suspected dislocated finger. He made his comeback for the team as a substitute four months later in a 0–0 draw with Swansea City. He went on to make his first Premiership start for Newcastle against West Bromwich Albion on 21 December and won plaudits for his performance, which included hitting the woodwork from 30 yards and forcing a fine save from the opposition goalkeeper
On 30 August, Vučkić made his continental début for Newcastle United, coming on as a substitute for an injured Ryan Taylor against Greek side Atromitos, scoring the winning goal in the process, sending Newcastle through to the Europa League group stages.

Cardiff City (loan)

On 9 February 2012, Vučkić joined Cardiff City on a one-month loan. He made his debut in the 2–1 loss to Leicester City on 11 February, but only managed to stay on half the game before being substituted. He scored his first professional goal the following game against Peterborough United. He returned to Newcastle United on 12 March, due to injuries at the club and both player and Cardiff wanted him to return to the club however this didn't materialise due to consistent injuries at Newcastle.

Rotherham United (loan)

On 28 November 2013, Vučkić joined League One side Rotherham United on loan until 2 January 2014. He scored his first goal for the club in a 1–0 win over Bradford City on 26 December 2013. By the end of January 2014, Rotherham extended Vučkić's loan deal to the end of the season, during which time he helped them defeat Leyton Orient in the play-off final at Wembley to win promotion to the Championship.

Rangers (loan)

On 2 February 2015, Vučkić was one of five Newcastle United players who signed for then Scottish Championship side Rangers on loan until the end of the 2014–15 season. Vučkić had spoken with Newcastle manager John Carver before deciding to move to Scotland; "I wasn't in his plans at the moment and he advised me to go and play football." He scored on his debut for Rangers, a 2–1 defeat against Raith Rovers in the Scottish Cup on 8 February 2015 and went on to score nine more goals before returning to Tyneside.

Wigan Athletic (loan)

Vučkić joined Wigan Athletic on a season long loan in September 2015.

Bradford City (loan)

On the last day of the summer transfer window 2016 Vučkić was reunited with former Rangers boss Stuart McCall at Bradford City on a six-month loan deal. He scored his first goal for Bradford in an EFL Trophy tie against Bury on 4 October 2016. The loan ended on 3 January 2017.

Twente

On 23 June 2017, Vučkić signed for Dutch side FC Twente on a free transfer.

International career

He impressed in the 2009 U-17 European championship qualifiers against Turkey, Russia and Malta, where he scored three goals in three games. Despite only being 16 years old, Vučkić played for Slovenia during the finals of the U19 European Championships, held in the Ukraine in July 2009.
On 10 August 2010, Vučkić made his first appearance for the Slovenia U-21 team. Haris Vučkić played in second half in a U-21 qualifying match between Sweden and Slovenia held in Trelleborg on 6 October 2011, after his terrific cross from the right side in the 81st minute, Robert Berić equalised and set the final score 1–1.
On 1 October 2010, Vučkić was summoned into a 23-man squad of the Slovenia national football team for the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying matches against Faroe Islands and Estonia that was scheduled on 8 and 12 October 2010. Vučkić was on the stands for the whole 90 minutes of the match against Faroe Islands and did not travel to Estonia as he had returned in Slovenia U-21 team before that.
Vučkić made his debut for the senior national team on 29 February 2012, replacing Valter Birsa in the 61st minute in a friendly match against Scotland.

Personal life

Vučkić is the younger brother of Alen Vučkić, who is also a footballer. Vučkić was born in Ljubljana, Slovenia. As his father is of Bosnian descent, it was reported that Bosnia wants him in their team. However, Vučkić has rejected the claims of Bosnian media that he is about to switch national allegiances to Bosnia and stated that he is a Slovenian national team player and will be the same in the future. He has also made public statements saying that he will always be available for Slovenia national football team selections if called upon. After continuous pressure from both the media and the fans - primarily from Bosnia - upon the then 18-year-old, he made an open statement about the matter:

Career statistics

Club

International