Nikola Milenković

Nikola Milenković ( sr-cyr, Никола Миленковић, ; born 12 October 1997) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Nottingham Forest and the Serbia national team.

Club career

Early career

Milenković grew up in Žarkovo, a neighbourhood of Belgrade where his family lived. After having a successful trial, he was enrolled in the academy roster of OFK Žarkovo. Milenković had an excellent start to his youth career, as he surpassed his teammates in both training and games. OFK Žarkovo's youth coach Nikola Jelić observed Nikola's attributes and recommended him to FK Teleoptik – a farm club of FK Partizan – where Milenković, aged 15, would go on to sign for after a successful trial. Milenković was then among thirty other youth players who were approved to come for trials with Partizan. Only five passed, and Milenković was one of them.

Partizan

2015–16 season

Passing the youth categories of Partizan, Milenković was loaned to Teleoptik for the 2015–16 season. At the beginning of 2016, he joined the first team of Partizan under coach Ivan Tomić and signed a five-year contract, but also stayed with Teleoptik on dual registration until the end of season. Several days after debut for U19 national team, he made his debut for Partizan in a SuperLiga match against Mladost Lučani played on 10 April 2016. He started in a match against Čukarički in round 32 of the same season and received a red card for a brutal foul on Petar Bojić, which resulted in a suspension for the next four matches. Milenković scored his first senior goal for Partizan in the last fixture of the 2015–16 Serbian SuperLiga, against Vojvodina, which was the hundredth goal of the club for the season.

2016–17 season

Milenković started new season pairing with Cédric Gogoua for the second qualifying round of the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League against Zagłębie Lubin. He also started SuperLiga competition in the first fixture match against OFK Bačka before spending the following two rounds on the bench. After several bad results and some injuries of the players in defence, Milenković started playing continuously from the fourth fixture against Javor Ivanjica onwards. He scored his first season goal in a match against Rad, played on 27 August 2016. He also made his Serbian Cup debut in the first round match, against Napredak Kruševac on 21 September 2016. After Miroslav Vulićević's injury in a cup match against Žarkovo on 25 October 2016, Milenković wore the captain's armbrand. In February 2017, he was listed as one of the 30 best youth footballers in the world by the Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport. he scored his third goal for Partizan as a senior in 27 fixture match of the season against Voždovac, played on 18 March 2017.

On 27 May, in his last match for Partizan, Milenković scored a header against Partizan's biggest rival Red Star which won the game and clinched Partizan's double of the season, winning both the league and cup competitions.

Fiorentina

On 24 May 2017, Partizan president Milorad Vučelić confirmed that Milenković would be joining Serie A side Fiorentina in the summer. The transfer fee was reported as €5.1 million. Milenković made his debut for Fiorentina in 1–0 away victory over Cagliari on 22 December 2017, having played 84 minutes of the game. During the first few months, Nikola was getting used to his new environment and that's why Viola coach Stefano Pioli didn't often include him in the starting line-up. However, the tragic death of the team captain Davide Astori made Pioli change his mind and include Nikola in the starting eleven more often. At the start of 2018–19 Serie A season matchday 2, Milenković scored his first goal at Stadio Artemio Franchi in 6–1 win over ChievoVerona. On 20 April 2019, Milenković scored 6th minute opener in 2–1 away defeat against rivals Juventus. In the first round of the 2019–20 season against Napoli, Milenković scored the second goal for his team as a 7-goal thriller ends in Napoli's favour. After a corner taken by Erick Pulgar Milenkovic's header Proves Decisive in a 1–0 win against Udinese. On 30 October, Nikola scored his third goal of the season and thus helped Fiorentina come from behind to claim a 2–1 win against Sassuolo. After another corner combination between Pulgar and Milenković, the Serbian international scored the equalising goal in his side's 2–1 defeat against Roma at the Stadio Olimpico. At the end of the 2021–22 Serie A season Fiorentina finished in seventh position and secured their first participation in the UEFA Europa Conference League. After five seasons, (The Purples) returned to European competition and after the draw held on 2 August 2022, the opponent was the Dutch Twente. After two games with the Dutch, the Italians came out victorious, the result was 2–1 for Fiorentina in the overall score.

Nottingham Forest

On 18 July 2024, Milenković signed for Premier League side Nottingham Forest on a five-year deal for an undisclosed transfer fee, believed to be around £12 million. Milenković debuted on 24 August 2024, as Nottingham Forest claimed their first win of the 2024/25 campaign by beating Southampton 1–0 at St Mary's Stadium.

Following Forest's surprisingly strong start, which saw the club firmly entrenched in the Champions league hunt through the first half of the 2024-25 Premier League season, Milenkovic's performance at the heart of defence was widely hailed as a key to the team's early success under manager Nuno Espírito Santo. He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–2 away victory over Manchester United on 7 December 2024.

Having continued to impress as Forest qualified for the UEFA Conference League, Milenković was voted as the club's Player of the Season for the 2024–25 season.

International career

Youth

Milenković was a member of the Serbia under-19 team in early 2016. Later that year, he was called up to the Serbia U20 national squad by coach Nenad Lalatović, and made his debut for the team in a match against Montenegro. In March 2017, Milenković was called up to the U21 squad by Lalatović, debuted on 28 March in a 1–2 friendly loss against Slovakia.

Senior

On 4 June 2018, Milenković made his debut for the senior national team in a friendly match against Bolivia. Later that month, coach Mladen Krstajić included Milenković in the final 23-man squad for the 2018 World Cup. He played in all three group stage matches.

In November 2022, Milenković was selected in Serbia's squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. He played in all three group stage matches, against Brazil, Cameroon, and Switzerland. Serbia finished fourth in the group.

Milenković was selected in Serbia's squad for the UEFA Euro 2024. He played in all three group stage matches, against England, Slovenia, and Denmark. Serbia finished fourth in the group.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Serbia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Milenković goal''.

Honours

Partizan
*Serbian SuperLiga: 2016–17
*Serbian Cup: 2015–16, 2016–17

Individual
*UEFA Europa Conference League Team of the Season: 2022–23
*Nottingham Forest Player of the Season: 2024–25
* ''The Athletic'' Alternative Premier league Team of the Season: 2024–25

References

External links

Profile
at the Nottingham Forest F.C. website
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Milenkovic, Nikola
1997 births
Living people
Footballers from Belgrade
Men's association football central defenders
Serbian men's footballers
Serbia men's youth international footballers
Serbia men's under-21 international footballers
Serbia men's international footballers
2018 FIFA World Cup players
2022 FIFA World Cup players
UEFA Euro 2024 players
FK Teleoptik players
FK Partizan players
ACF Fiorentina players
Nottingham Forest F.C. players
Serbian League players
Serbian SuperLiga players
Serie A players
Premier League players
Serbian expatriate men's footballers
Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Italy
Expatriate men's footballers in Italy
Serbian expatriate sportspeople in England
Expatriate men's footballers in England