 Milenković withSerbia at the2018 FIFA World Cup | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Nikola Milenković[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1997-10-12)12 October 1997 (age 28) | ||
| Place of birth | Belgrade,Serbia,FR Yugoslavia[2] | ||
| Height | 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)[3] | ||
| Position | Centre-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Nottingham Forest | ||
| Number | 31 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2012–2015 | Žarkovo | ||
| 2015 | Partizan | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015–2017 | Partizan | 36 | (2) |
| 2015–2016 | →Teleoptik (loan) | 13 | (0) |
| 2017–2024 | Fiorentina | 216 | (14) |
| 2024– | Nottingham Forest | 49 | (5) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2017–2019 | Serbia U21 | 9 | (0) |
| 2018– | Serbia | 69 | (3) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:11, 22 November 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 16 November 2025 | |||
Nikola Milenković (Serbian Cyrillic:Никола Миленковић,pronounced[nǐkolamilěːŋkoʋitɕ]; born 12 October 1997) is a Serbian professionalfootballer who plays as acentre-back forPremier League clubNottingham Forest and theSerbia national team.
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Milenković grew up inBele Vode, a neighbourhood of Belgrade where his family lived. After a successful trial, he was enrolled in the academy roster ofOFK 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 his attributes and recommended him toFK Teleoptik – afarm club ofFK Partizan – where then-15-year-old Milenković would go on to sign for after a successful trial. Later, Milenković was among thirty other youth players who were approved to come for trials with Partizan. Only five passed, and he was one of them.
Passing the youth categories ofPartizan, Milenković moved toTeleoptik on loan in the 2015–16 season.[4] At the beginning of 2016, he joined the first team ofPartizan under coachIvan Tomić and signed a five-year contract, but also stayed withTeleoptik on dual registration until the end of season.[5] Several days after debuting forU19 national team,[6] Milenković made his debut forPartizan in aSuperLiga match againstMladost Lučani played on 10 April 2016.[7] He started in a match againstČukarički in round 32 of the same season and received a red card for a brutal foul onPetar Bojić, which resulted in a suspension for the next four matches.[8] Milenković scored his first senior goal forPartizan in the last fixture of the2015–16 Serbian SuperLiga, againstVojvodina,[9] which was the hundredth goal of the club for the season.[10]
Milenković started new season pairing withCédric Gogoua for thesecond qualifying round of the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League againstZagłębie Lubin. He also startedSuperLiga competition in the first fixture match againstOFK Bačka before spending the following two rounds on the bench. Upon several poor performances and some injuries of the defenders, Milenković started playing continuously from the fourth fixture againstJavor Ivanjica onwards. He scored his first season goal in a match againstRad, played on 27 August 2016.[11] Milenković also made hisSerbian Cup debut in the first round match, againstNapredak Kruševac on 21 September 2016.[12] AfterMiroslav Vulićević's injury in acup match againstŽarkovo on 25 October 2016, Milenković wore the captain's armbrand.[13] In February 2017, he was listed as one of the 30 best youth footballers in the world by the Italian newspaperLa Gazzetta dello Sport.[14] On 18 March 2017, Milenković scored his third goal forPartizan as a senior in 27 fixture match of the season againstVoždovac.[15]
On 27 May, in his last match for Partizan, Milenković scored a header against Partizan's biggest rivalRed Star which won the game and clinched Partizan's double of the season, winning both the league and cup competitions.[16]
On 24 May 2017, president of PartizanMilorad Vučelić confirmed that Milenković would joinSerie A clubFiorentina in the summer.[17] The transfer fee was reported as €5.1 million.[18] Milenković made his debut for Fiorentina in 1–0 away league victory againstCagliari on 22 December 2017, having played 84 minutes of the match.[19] Whilst adapting to the Italian environment during the first week of arrival, coachStefano Pioli did not often include him in the starting line-up. However, the death of the team captainDavide Astori made Pioli change his mind and include Milenković in the starting line-up frequently.[citation needed]
On the second matchday of the2018–19 Serie A, Milenković scored his first goal atStadio Artemio Franchi in a 6–1 victory againstChievoVerona.[20] On 20 April 2019, he scored sixth minute opener in a 2–1 away defeat againstJuventus.[21]
In the first round of the 2019–20 season againstNapoli, Milenković scored the second goal for his team as a 7-goal thriller ends in Napoli's favour.[22] After a corner taken byErick Pulgar Milenkovic's header Proves Decisive in a 1–0 victory againstUdinese.[23] On 30 October, he scored his third goal of the season and thus helped Fiorentina come from behind to claim a 2–1 victory againstSassuolo.[24] After another corner combination between Pulgar and Milenković, the latter scored the equalising goal in his club's 2–1 defeat againstRoma at theStadio Olimpico.[25] At the end of the2021–22 Serie A season Fiorentina finished in seventh position and secured their first ever participation in theUEFA Europa Conference League.
After five seasons of absence, Fiorentina returned toEuropean competition. Upon the goalless draw on 2 August 2022, their opponent was Dutch clubTwente, who they beat 2-1 on aggregate to qualify for the main competition.[26][27] By doing so, Fiorentina became the first club to record two consecutive final appearances in the competition's history, but in losing both againstWest Ham United andOlympiacos – becoming the first team to lose two consecutive European finals sinceBenfica in 2013 and 2014 UEFA Europa League finals.[28][29]
On 18 July 2024, Milenković signed forPremier League clubNottingham Forest on a five-year contract for an undisclosed transfer fee,[30] believed to be around £12 million.[31] Milenković debuted on 24 August 2024, as Nottingham Forest claimed their first victory of the2024–25 season by beatingSouthampton 1–0 atSt Mary's Stadium.[32]
Following Nottingham Forest's surprisingly strong start, which saw the club entering Champions league spot through the first half of the2024–25 Premier League season, Milenkovic's performance at the heart of defence was widely hailed as a key to the team's early success under managerNuno Espírito Santo.[33] He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–2 away victory againstManchester United on 7 December 2024.[34] Having continued to impress as Nottingham Forest qualified for the European competitions, Milenković was voted as the club's Player of the Season for the 2024–25 season, scoring five goals in 37 appearances.[35]
Milenković was a member of theSerbia under-19 team in early 2016.[36] Later that year, he was called up to theSerbia U20 national squad by coachNenad Lalatović, and made his debut for the team in a match againstMontenegro.[37] In March 2017, Milenković was called up to theU21 squad by Lalatović,[38] debuted on 28 March in a 1–2 friendly loss againstSlovakia.[39]
On 4 June 2018, Milenković made his debut for thesenior national team in a friendly match againstBolivia.[40] Later that month, coachMladen Krstajić included Milenković in the final 23-man squad for the2018 World Cup.[41] He played in all three group stage matches.[42][43][44]
In November 2022, Milenković was selected in Serbia's squad for the2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.[45] He played in all three group stage matches, againstBrazil,[46]Cameroon,[47] andSwitzerland.[48] Serbia finished fourth in the group.[49]
Milenković was selected in Serbia's squad for theUEFA Euro 2024.[50] He played in all three group stage matches, againstEngland,Slovenia, andDenmark. Serbia finished fourth in the group.[citation needed]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Teleoptik (loan)[2] | 2015–16 | Serbian League Belgrade | 13 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 13 | 0 | ||||
| Partizan | 2015–16 | Serbian SuperLiga | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | ||
| 2016–17 | 32 | 2 | 6 | 1 | — | 2[c] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 3 | |||
| Total | 36 | 3 | 6 | 1 | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 4 | |||
| Fiorentina | 2017–18 | Serie A | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 17 | 0 | |||
| 2018–19 | 34 | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 38 | 3 | |||||
| 2019–20 | 37 | 5 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 41 | 5 | |||||
| 2020–21 | 34 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 37 | 3 | |||||
| 2021–22 | 34 | 1 | 5 | 2 | — | — | — | 39 | 3 | |||||
| 2022–23 | 27 | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | 11[d] | 1 | — | 42 | 3 | ||||
| 2023–24 | 34 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 11[d] | 0 | 1[e] | 0 | 50 | 0 | |||
| Total | 216 | 14 | 25 | 2 | — | 22 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 264 | 17 | |||
| Nottingham Forest | 2024–25 | Premier League | 37 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 39 | 5 | ||
| 2025–26 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | — | 14 | 0 | |||
| Total | 49 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 53 | 5 | |||
| Career total | 314 | 22 | 32 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 374 | 26 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serbia | 2018 | 10 | 0 |
| 2019 | 8 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 6 | 2 | |
| 2022 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 12 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 7 | 0 | |
| Total | 69 | 3 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 September 2019 | Rajko Mitić Stadium, Belgrade, Serbia |  Portugal | 1–2 | 2–4 | UEFA Euro 2020 qualification |
| 2 | 1 September 2021 | Nagyerdei Stadion,Debrecen, Hungary |  Qatar | 4–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
| 3 | 4 September 2021 | Rajko Mitić Stadium, Belgrade, Serbia |  Luxembourg | 4–1 | 4–1 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
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