Dion Gallapeni

Dion Gallapeni
Personal information
Date of birth (2004-12-22) 22 December 2004
Place of birth Suharekë, Kosovo under UN administration
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Position Left-back
Team information
Current team
 Wisła Płock
(on loan from Widzew Łódź)
Number 19
Youth career
Winner Prizren
–2023 Prishtina
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2023–2025 Prishtina 49 (2)
2025– Widzew Łódź 10 (1)
2026– → Wisła Płock (loan) 10 (0)
International career‡
2024– Kosovo U21 3 (0)
2025– Kosovo 13 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17:12, 29 May 2026 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 21:53, 7 June 2026 (UTC)

Dion Gallapeni (born 22 December 2004) is a Kosovan professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Ekstraklasa club Wisła Płock, on loan from Widzew Łódź, and the Kosovo national team. He will join Wisła Płock on a permanent deal in July 2026.

Club career

Gallapeni began his career at Winner Prizren and then transferred to Prishtina.[2] On 4 January 2023, he signed his first professional contract with the first team competing in the Kosovo Superleague.[2] On 12 February, he was named as a Prishtina substitute for the first time in a league match against Dukagjini.[3] His debut with Prishtina came on 19 April in the 2022–23 Kosovar Cup semi-finals against Vushtrria after coming on as a substitute at 46th minute in place of Gledi Mici.[4]

On 30 June 2025, Gallapeni joined Polish Ekstraklasa club Widzew Łódź on a four-year contract, after Widzew activated his €300,000 release clause.[5] On 16 February 2026, he joined fellow Ekstraklasa side Wisła Płock on loan for the remainder of the season, with an option to buy.[6] On 31 May 2026, Wisła triggered the buy option in Gallapeni's loan deal; he will join the club permanently on a four-year deal on 1 July, for a fee reported to be between €700,000 and €800,000.[7]

International career

In May 2024, Gallapeni received a call-up from Kosovo U20 for a three-day training camp in Hajvalia.[8] On 2 September 2024, he received a urgent call-up from Kosovo U21 for the UEFA Euro 2025 qualification match against Israel.[9] On 9 January 2025, Gallapeni received a call-up from Kosovo national senior team for a three-day training camp in Pristina.[10]

After his call-up from Kosovo, there were reports that he would switch his allegiance to Albania.[11] After this on 14 March 2025, Gallapeni received again a call-up from Kosovo for the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League play-offs against Iceland.[12] His debut with Kosovo came seven days later in the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League play-offs against Iceland after coming on as a substitute at 87th minute in place of Florent Muslija.[13]

Career statistics

International

As of match played 7 June 2026[14]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Kosovo 2025 9 0
2026 4 0
Total 13 0

Honours

Prishtina[15]

References

  1. ^ "Dion Gallapeni" (in Polish). Widzew Łódź. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Prishtina nënshkruan me pesë talentë të rinj" [Prishtina signs five new talents] (in Albanian). Telegrafi. 4 January 2023.
  3. ^ "KF Dukagjini – FC Prishtina 1:0 (Superliga 2022/2023, 19. Round)". WorldFootball.net. 12 February 2023.
  4. ^ "Igball Jashari shënon golin e parë në fanellën e Prishtinës, debutojnë Dion Gallapeni e Amar Demolli" [Igball Jashari scores his first goal in the Prishtina shirt, Dion Gallapeni and Amar Demolli make their debuts] (in Albanian). FC Prishtina. 19 April 2023. Archived from the original on 26 April 2023.
  5. ^ Jabłoński, Jakub (30 June 2025). "Oficjalnie: Dion Gallapeni kolejnym nowym piłkarzem Widzewa Łódź. To kosowski lewy obrońca". gol24.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2 July 2025.
  6. ^ "Dion Gallapeni wypożyczony do Wisły Płock" (in Polish). Widzew Łódź. 16 February 2026. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
  7. ^ Galiński, Tomasz (31 May 2026). "Wykupili piłkarza Widzewa, pobili rekord". sportowefakty.wp.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 31 May 2026.
  8. ^ "Kombëtarja U20 filloi grumbullimin e radhës treditor" [The national U20 team began its next three-day training camp] (in Albanian). Football Federation of Kosovo. 27 May 2024.
  9. ^ FC Prishtina [@FC_Prishtina] (2 September 2024). "Dion Gallapeni ftohet nga U21 e Kosovës së prirë nga trajneri Afrim Tovërlani" [Dion Gallapeni is invited by Kosovo U21 led by coach Afrim Tovërlani] (Tweet) (in Albanian) – via X (formerly Twitter).
  10. ^ "Kamp stërvitor me futbollistët potencialë për Kombëtaren A" [Training camp with potential footballers for the senior national team] (in Albanian). Football Federation of Kosovo. 9 January 2025.
  11. ^ "Shqipëria interesohet edhe për Gallapenin" [Albania is also interested in Gallapeni] (in Albanian). Koha Ditore. 11 March 2025.
  12. ^ "Foda publikon listën e futbollistëve për dy ndeshjet kundër Islandës" [Foda publishes the list of footballers for the two matches against Iceland] (in Albanian). Football Federation of Kosovo. 14 March 2025.
  13. ^ FC Prishtina [@FC_Prishtina] (23 March 2025). "Dion Gallapeni debuton te përfaqësuesja A e Kosovës" [Dion Gallapeni makes his debut for the Kosovo senior national team] (Tweet) (in Albanian) – via X (formerly Twitter).
  14. ^ "Dion Gallapeni". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
  15. ^ "Dion Gallapeni". 90minut.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2 July 2025.
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