The 17-year-old Revs II midfielder becomes the Revs’ ninth Homegrown signing,
The New England Revolution welcomed another member to its roster as the club announced the signing of Revolution II midfielder Esmir Bajraktarević to a Homegrown contract. Bajraktarević becomes the ninth Homegrown signing in Revs history while being the sixth player to join the first team from Revolution II.
Bajraktarević’s Homegrown deal keeps him with the Revolution until the end of the 2025 MLS season, along with a one-year club option.
Bajraktarević has seen a meteoric rise since joining the Revolution Academy’s residency program last August. Esmir immediately joined Revolution II towards the end of their 2021 USL League One season. Esmir went on to end the year with eleven appearances and one goal. Once the 2021 season ended, Revs II quickly signed Bajraktarević to his first professional contract in November of 2021. The 17-year-old midfielder has appeared in six matches for Revolution II in 2022 and has seen 425 minutes of action.
Esmir has also attracted attention on the international level as he’s received two call-ups to the United States Under-20 team. Bajraktarević has made two appearances with the U-20 team and was most recently called into April’s training camp ahead of this summer’s Concacaf U-20 Championship.
Revolution Technical Director Curt Onalfo said, “Esmir is an exceptional young talent who still has a great deal of development ahead of him. I am happy to see his hard work thus far pay off as he takes this next step in our Pro Player Pathway. From his first day in our residency program, Esmir has set a tremendous example with his attitude and work ethic. We look forward to seeing more players follow in his path from our Academy to the first team.”
When talking about transitioning to the first team, Bajraktarević said, “I am excited to take this next step in my career and to continue learning from all of the great coaches and my teammates here in New England. I feel that I have made huge strides as a player since coming to New England and I look forward to proving myself at this next level and earning my place on the field.”
Bajraktarević will be unable to appear in MLS action for the Revolution until he reaches the one-year mark of joining the academy in August but could play as soon as Wednesday as the Revs face off against NYCFC in the US Open Cup.