Ádám Nagy celebrates his 25th birthday today

(photo: Ádám Nagy, in the red shirt second from the right, closes down Croatia's Luka Modric during Hungary's win over the 2018 World Cup finalists in Budapest early last year)


Birthday celebrations will naturally be muted as Ádám Nagy and his teammates aim to prepare as well as possible for Saturday's match with fellow Championship promotion hopefuls Blackburn Rovers, but nevertheless a 25th birthday is always a cause of happiness. The former Ferencváros central midfielder burst onto the scene with Hungary at the 2015 FIFA Under-20 World Cup before winning the 2016 Hungarian NB I championship in his first full season with the 'Green Eagles'. Nagy followed that up by playing a distinguished role in his national team's memorable run to the knockout stages of the 2016 UEFA European Championship and in July 2016 a whirlwind 14 months culminated in a big transfer to Italian Serie A club Bologna, formerly the club of 1980s Hungarian star Lajos Détári.

Fifty-one appearances and three years later, Nagy's next move was to England where he signed for second-tier club Bristol City in a three + one-year deal. An impressive start to life in south-west England was interrupted by an injury setback in autumn 2019 but the Budapest native recovered by November and was soon back in contention for selection. Bristol City lie in seventh spot in England's second tier, just one point away from a play-off position with nine matches remaining of the league season.