| Timi Max Elšnik | |
| Birth Date: | 29 April 1998 |
| Birth Place: | Ptuj, Slovenia[1] |
| Height: | 1.82 m[2] |
| Position: | Central midfielder |
| Currentclub: | Red Star Belgrade |
| Clubnumber: | 21 |
| Youthclubs1: | Zlatoličje[3] |
| Youthyears2: | 2008–2015 |
| Youthclubs2: | Aluminij |
| Youthyears3: | 2015–2016 |
| Youthclubs3: | Derby County |
| Years1: | 2016–2019 |
| Clubs1: | Derby County |
| Caps1: | 0 |
| Goals1: | 0 |
| Years2: | 2017–2018 |
| Clubs2: | → Swindon Town (loan) |
| Caps2: | 22 |
| Goals2: | 3 |
| Years3: | 2018–2019 |
| Clubs3: | → Mansfield Town (loan) |
| Caps3: | 19 |
| Goals3: | 3 |
| Years4: | 2019 |
| Clubs4: | → Northampton Town (loan) |
| Caps4: | 9 |
| Goals4: | 1 |
| Years5: | 2020–2024 |
| Clubs5: | Olimpija Ljubljana |
| Caps5: | 129 |
| Goals5: | 21 |
| Years6: | 2024– |
| Clubs6: | Red Star Belgrade |
| Caps6: | 3 |
| Goals6: | 2 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2014–2015 |
| Nationalteam1: | Slovenia U17 |
| Nationalcaps1: | 13 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 1 |
| Nationalyears2: | 2015 |
| Nationalteam2: | Slovenia U18 |
| Nationalcaps2: | 5 |
| Nationalgoals2: | 0 |
| Nationalyears3: | 2015–2016 |
| Nationalteam3: | Slovenia U19 |
| Nationalcaps3: | 18 |
| Nationalgoals3: | 2 |
| Nationalyears4: | 2019–2021 |
| Nationalteam4: | Slovenia U21 |
| Nationalcaps4: | 6 |
| Nationalgoals4: | 0 |
| Nationalyears5: | 2021– |
| Nationalteam5: | Slovenia |
| Nationalcaps5: | 19 |
| Nationalgoals5: | 1 |
| Club-Update: | 15 August 2024 |
| Nationalteam-Update: | 1 July 2024 |
Timi Max Elšnik (born 29 April 1998) is a Slovenian professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Serbian SuperLiga club Red Star Belgrade and the Slovenia national team.
Elšnik joined the Derby County academy in 2015 at the age of 17.[4] During his first season, he initially played for the under-18 team before progressing to the under-21 squad. At the end of the 2015–16 season, he was named the club's Scholar of the Year.[5] Shortly after signing a new three-year contract with the club in August 2016,[6] he made his first team debut as a substitute against Carlisle United in the EFL Cup, scoring twice in Derby's penalty shoot-out win.[7] He was released by Derby in July 2019.[8]
On 31 August 2017, Elšnik signed on a season-long loan for Swindon Town along with Derby teammate Kellan Gordon.[9] Two days later, Elšnik made his Swindon debut during their 4–1 home defeat against Barnet, featuring for the entire 90 minutes.[10]
On 31 August 2018, Elšnik signed on a season-long loan for Mansfield Town.[11] Four days later, Elšnik made his Mansfield debut during their 2–1 away win against Lincoln City in the EFL Trophy, featuring for the entire 90 minutes.[12] On 30 October 2018, Elšnik was brought back into the Mansfield side, starting the game against Crewe Alexandra. He scored two goals ensuring a 3–0 win for Mansfield.[13]
In January 2019, Mansfield activated a clause to terminate the loan spell during the winter transfer window.[14] Shortly after his return to Derby, he was loaned to Northampton Town until the end of the season.[15]
In January 2020, Elšnik returned to his home country and signed with Olimpija Ljubljana.[16] In December 2020, after extending his contract with the club, president Milan Mandarić appointed him as the team captain at only 22 years of age.[17] With Olimpija, Elšnik won the Slovenian league title in the 2022–23 season and the Slovenian Cup in the 2020–21 and 2022–23 seasons.
Elšnik has represented Slovenia at the under-17, under-18, under-19, and under-21 levels.[18] He was the captain of the under-21 team at the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.[19]
He made his senior debut on 8 October 2021 in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Malta, replacing Jasmin Kurtić late in the game.[20] In June 2024, Elšnik was called up to the squad for UEFA Euro 2024 by Slovenian coach Matjaž Kek.[21] He appeared as a starter in all four Slovenia matches at the tournament.[22]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Derby County | 2015–16 | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2016–17 | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |||
| 2017–18 | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2018–19 | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |||
| Swindon Town (loan) | 2017–18 | League Two | 22 | 3 | 1 | 2 | — | 2 | 0 | 25 | 5 | ||
| Mansfield Town (loan) | 2018–19 | League Two | 19 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | 4 | 1 | 24 | 4 | ||
| Northampton Town (loan) | 2018–19 | League Two | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | ||
| Olimpija Ljubljana | 2019–20 | Slovenian PrvaLiga | 11 | 3 | — | — | — | 11 | 3 | ||||
| 2020–21 | Slovenian PrvaLiga | 31 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 35 | 4 | |||
| 2021–22 | Slovenian PrvaLiga | 21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 26 | 1 | |||
| 2022–23 | Slovenian PrvaLiga | 33 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | 40 | 9 | |||
| 2023–24 | Slovenian PrvaLiga | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 3 | — | 17 | 4 | |||
| Total | 104 | 15 | 7 | 3 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 129 | 21 | |||
| Career total | 154 | 22 | 9 | 5 | 18 | 3 | 9 | 1 | 190 | 31 | |||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slovenia | ||||
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2023 | 8 | 0 | ||
| 2024 | 9 | 1 | ||
| Total | 19 | 1 | ||
Scores and results list Slovenia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Elšnik goal.[23]
Olimpija Ljubljana