EGLI’S DELIGHT ON CAP CALL
Winger gets wind up from agent
Livingston loanee Egli Kaja admits he thought his international career was over before it had even started - thanks to a cheeky agent.
The winger was called up to the Albania squad for the first time earlier this month, although he didn’t feature in either of their games - a friendly at home to Jordan and a UEFA Nations League clash against Israel.
However, the 21-year-old’s agent certainly had his client thinking otherwise when he delivered the news.
Kaja, who is on a season-long loan from English League One side AFC Wimbledon, said: “I was actually cooking in the kitchen and my agent called me. He told me that the first team coach, Christian Panucci, had had a look at me and didn’t really like me at all.
“He said he’s just not having you, he doesn’t rate you and I just kind of froze and had no motivation to finish what I was cooking. I was gutted, but after a bit of a pause he started laughing.
“He told me that the coach was going to call me up for the next two games and that he’d liked the footage of me that he’d seen, but he definitely had me going for a minute.”
He added: “I was slightly expecting the call to be honest. I had a chat with the under-21s manager and he told me that I couldn’t play at that level any more and he was recommending me to the first team coach.
“I wasn’t sure to be honest if he was going to call me up. I thought he might have wanted to see a bit more. There was definitely a bit of doubt about whether I would be picked or not.
“He spoke to my agent and said that he really liked what he’d seen and that I’d be called into the squad.”
Despite not getting the chance to make his national team bow, he called the experience “incredible”, saying: “It was unbelievable to be part of the squad. I’m obviously a bit gutted that I didn’t play but it was an incredible experience and there were definitely many positives to take.
“There’s some tremendous players in the squad who play in the biggest and best leagues. It was a bit of a different world for me, to be honest, but I loved it and was happy to be part of the group.
“There’s folk like Elseid Hysaj who plays at Napoli and Taulant Xhaka, Granit’s brother, who’s at Basel and has loads of European experience.
“They’re tremedous and to be around folk like that can only be a good thing because every player aspires to be at that sort of level and challenging yourself to be the best.”
As for life north of the border, he added: “I’m enjoying being up here, although it’s freezing. It’s cold in London, but not as cold as Scotland.
“I’ve settled in well and it’s a great group of guys. I was playing a lot earlier in the season but I need to keep working hard in training to try and get myself back into the team.
“We’re winning games just now so the players have earned their place and you can’t really complain about that.”