Quick Facts
Biography
George Alexandru Pușcaș ([ˈd͡ʒe̯ord͡ʒe alekˈsandru ˈpuʃkaʃ]; born 8 April 1996) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a forward for English club Reading and the Romania national team.
Club career
Internazionale
Pușcaș made his Internazionale debut on 1 February 2015 by appearing in the last minutes of a 3–1 loss to Sassuolo in the 2014–15 Serie A matchday 21. On 26 February 2015 he made his UEFA Europa League debut as a substitute replacing Rodrigo Palacio in the 89th minute of a 1–0 home win over Celtic. On 4 April 2014, Pușcaș played his first match as a starter for Internazionale, a 1–1 home draw against Parma, he was replaced by Mateo Kovačić in the 46th minute.
Loan to Bari
On 4 August 2015, Pușcaș, along with his teammate Gaston Camara, were sent on loan at Serie B for the 2015–16 season. On 9 August he made his debut for Bari as a substitute replacing Anthony Partipilo in the 60th minute of a 2–1 home defeat against Foggia in the second round of Coppa Italia. He played his first Serie B match later on 22 September 2015 in the 4–1 away loss to Crotone, starting and playing for 57 minutes. On 22 February he played his first entire match for Bari, a 1–0 away defeat against Virtus Lanciano. On 1 March, Pușcaș scored twice in a 4–0 home win over Ternana. Pușcaș ended his loan to Bari with 18 appearances, 5 goals and 1 assist.
Loan to Benevento
On 15 July, Pușcaș was loaned to Serie B side Benevento on a 2-years loan deal. On 7 August he made his debut in a match loss 4–2 at penalties after a 0–0 home draw against Salernitana in the second round of Coppa Italia; he was replaced by Fabio Mazzeo in the 68th minute. On 27 August he made his Serie B debut for Benevento as a substitute replacing Fabio Ceravolo in the 71st minute and scoring his first goal 8 minutes later in a 2–0 home win over SPAL. On 20 September he played his first entire match for Benevento, a 1–1 home draw against Pro Vercelli. On 19 November, Pușcaș scored his second goal, again as a substitute, in the 89th minute of a 4–0 home win over Brescia. In June 2017 he scored the goal that sealed Benevento's promotion to Serie A.
Pușcaș started his second season with Benevento by playing 80 minutes in a 4–0 home defeat against Perugia in the third round of Coppa Italia. On 20 August, Pușcaș made his Serie A debut for Benevento in a 2–1 away defeat against Sampdoria. On 3 December 2017, Pușcaș scored his first Serie A goal in the 2–2 home draw versus Milan that gave Benevento their first ever point in the top flight. In January 2018 he was recalled by Inter, thus leaving Benevento with a total of 34 appearances and 8 goals.
Loan to Novara
On 29 January 2018, Pușcaș was again sent on loan, this time returning at Serie B to Novara. He debuted for his new team five days later in the 1–2 home defeat to Ascoli, netting his team's only goal in the first half. The following week, in his second appearance, Pușcaș scored his first career hat-trick to give his side the 3–1 win at Cittadella.
Palermo
On 8 August 2018, Pușcaș joined Palermo and subsequently signed a four-year contract. The deal was reported to be worth €3.25 million plus bonuses. On 3 November 2018, he registered his first league goal for the Sicilian team by scoring in the 90th minute of a 2–1 victory over Cosenza. At the end of the season, with Palermo relegated to Serie D, Internazionale exercised their buy back option for the Romanian forward.
Reading
On 7 August 2019, Pușcaș signed for Reading on a five-year contract from Inter Milan for €8 million euros plus €2 million in bonuses, becoming Reading's most expensive signing in history. He scored his first goal for Reading in an EFL Cup tie against Wycombe Wanderers on 13 August 2019, and also went on to score one of the penalties as Reading won the shoot-out. On 18 August 2019 he scored two goals on his home league debut for the Royals against Cardiff City.. Pușcaș scored his first EFL Championship hat-trick against Wigan Athletic on 30 November 2019 in a 3-1 victory, with the goals all coming in the space of 4 minutes 54 seconds .
International career
Pușcaș scored seven times for Romania under-21 in the 2019 UEFA European Championship qualifying competition, as his side won its group and progressed to the final tournament in Italy. On 18 June 2019, he obtained the penalty from which he scored the opener in a 4–1 victory over Croatia at the San Marino Stadium. He netted again in the next group game against England, surpassing Ionuț Luțu as the highest scorer of the Tricolorii mici. Pușcaș then gave Romania a half-time lead after scoring a double against Germany in the semi-finals, but Romania eventually lost the match 2–4.
He earned his first full cap for the nation on 23 May 2018, entering in the 74th minute of a 3–2 win against Chile. On 17 November that year, he scored his first goal in a UEFA Nations League 3–0 defeat of Lithuania.
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 30 November 2019
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Bihor Oradea | ||||||||||||
| 2012–13 | Liga II | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 2 | |||
| Internazionale | 2014–15 | Serie A | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | |
| Bari (loan) | 2015–16 | Serie B | 17 | 5 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 18 | 6 | ||
| Benevento (loan) | 2016–17 | Serie B | 21 | 7 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 22 | 7 | ||
| 2017–18 | Serie A | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 1 | |||
| Total | 32 | 8 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 8 | ||||
| Novara (loan) | 2017–18 | Serie B | 19 | 9 | — | — | — | 19 | 9 | |||
| Palermo | 2018–19 | Serie B | 33 | 9 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 9 | ||
| Reading | 2019–20 | Championship | 17 | 6 | 2 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | 19 | 7 | |
| Career total | 136 | 39 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 142 | 41 | |||
International
- As of 18 November 2019
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Romania | |||
| 2018 | 4 | 1 | |
| 2019 | 10 | 5 | |
| Total | 14 | 6 | |
International goals
- 12 October 2019 .Romania score listed first, score column indicates score after each Pușcaș goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 November 2018 | Ilie Oană Stadium, Ploiești, Romania | 3 |  Lithuania | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2018–19 UEFA Nations League C |
| 2 | 26 March 2019 | Stadionul Dr. Constantin Rădulescu, Cluj-Napoca, Romania | 6 |  Faroe Islands | 4–1 | 4–1 | UEFA Euro 2020 qualification |
| 3 | 10 June 2019 | National Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta | 8 |  Malta | |||
| 4 | |||||||
| 5 | 8 September 2019 | Ilie Oană Stadium, Ploiești, Romania | 10 | 1–0 | 1–0 | ||
| 6 | 12 October 2019 | Tórsvøllur, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands | 11 | Faroe Islands | 1–0 | 3–0 |
Honours
Individual
- UEFA European Under-21 Championship Silver Boot: 2019
- UEFA European Under-21 Championship Team of the Tournament: 2019