Vanja Milinković-Savić (Serbian Cyrillic: Вања Милинковић-Савић, pronounced [ʋâɲa milǐːŋkoʋitɕ sǎːʋitɕ]; born 20 February 1997) is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Italian club Torino. Born in Spain, he plays for the Serbia national team. His elder brother is Sergej Milinković-Savić who plays for Lazio.
![]() Vanja Milinković-Savić in 2018 | |||||||
Personal information | |||||||
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Date of birth | (1997-02-20) 20 February 1997 (age 25) | ||||||
Place of birth | Ourense, Spain | ||||||
Height | 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in)[1] | ||||||
Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||||||
Club information | |||||||
Current team | Torino | ||||||
Number | 32 | ||||||
Youth career | |||||||
Grazer AK | |||||||
2006–2014 | Vojvodina | ||||||
Senior career* | |||||||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||
2014–2015 | Manchester United | 0 | (0) | ||||
2014–2015 | → Vojvodina (loan) | 17 | (0) | ||||
2016–2017 | Lechia Gdańsk | 29 | (0) | ||||
2017– | Torino | 43 | (0) | ||||
2018–2019 | → SPAL (loan) | 2 | (0) | ||||
2019 | → Ascoli (loan) | 8 | (0) | ||||
2019–2020 | → Standard Liège (loan) | 0 | (0) | ||||
National team‡ | |||||||
2013–2014 | Serbia U17 | 6 | (0) | ||||
2014–2016 | Serbia U19 | 9 | (0) | ||||
2014–2015 | Serbia U20 | 3 | (0) | ||||
2016–2017 | Serbia U21 | 10 | (1) | ||||
2021– | Serbia | 6 | (0) | ||||
Honours
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20:42, 17 October 2022 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:51, 27 September 2022 (UTC) |
After failing to be awarded a UK work permit with English club Manchester United, he was released by the club in November 2015 and signed a contract with Lechia Gdańsk. In 2017 he was signed by Torino.
On 2 April 2014, Milinković-Savić signed his first professional contract with Vojvodina, penning a three-year deal.[2] On 17 May 2014, it was announced by Manchester United that the club reached an agreement with Vojvodina for the transfer of Milinković-Savić. Both clubs agreed that the player would stay with Vojvodina for one more season.[3] The deal was completed on 5 August 2014,[4] for a transfer fee of €1.75 million.[5]
Milinković-Savić made his competitive debut for Vojvodina on 10 August 2014, keeping a clean sheet in a 3–0 home league victory over OFK Beograd.[6] He played the full 90 minutes in all 15 league games in the first part of the 2014–15 season. After the winter break, Milinković-Savić lost his place as first-choice goalkeeper to experienced Srđan Žakula, making only two more league appearances.
After failing to earn a work permit to play in England, Milinković-Savić was released by Manchester United in November 2015 and he signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with Polish club Lechia Gdańsk on 26 November; the contract commenced on 1 January 2016.[7]
On 30 January 2017, Italian club Torino announced they had purchased him and he would join the club on 1 July.[8] He was the first-choice goalkeeper for the national cup, while being the second choice, behind Salvatore Sirigu, for the Serie A. During the Coppa Italia match against Carpi, he hit the crossbar with a free-kick in injury time.[9]
On 6 July 2018, Milinković-Savić signed with S.P.A.L. on loan from Torino until 30 June 2019.[10]
On 31 January 2019, Milinković-Savić joined to Serie B side Ascoli on loan until 30 June 2019.[11]
On 29 June 2019, he joined to Belgian club Standard Liège on loan with an option to buy.[12]
On 15 June 2021, Torino announced a contract extension until 30 June 2024.[13]
Milinković-Savić was selected to represent the Serbia U19 national team at the 2014 UEFA Under-19 Championship. He served as a backup to Predrag Rajković, failing to make an appearance at the tournament, as the team was eliminated by Portugal on penalties in the semi-finals of the competition.
Milinković-Savić again served as a backup to Rajković at the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup, where the Serbian team won the gold medal.[14]
He made his debut for the senior national team on 11 November 2021 in a friendly against Qatar.[15]
Milinković-Savić was born in Ourense, Spain, to parents Nikola Milinković, who was playing professional football for CD Ourense, and Milana Savić, a professional basketball player.[16] He is the younger brother of midfielder Sergej Milinković-Savić.[17]
Club | Season | League | National cup | Continental | Total | |||||
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Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Vojvodina (loan) | 2014–15 | Serbian SuperLiga | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 |
Lechia Gdańsk | 2015–16 | Ekstraklasa | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 11 | 0 | |
2016–17 | Ekstraklasa | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 18 | 0 | ||
Total | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 29 | 0 | |||
Torino | 2017–18 | Serie A | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | 4 | 0 | |
2020–21 | Serie A | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | 8 | 0 | ||
2021–22 | Serie A | 27 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 28 | 0 | ||
2022–23 | Serie A | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 11 | 0 | ||
Total | 43 | 0 | 8 | 0 | – | 51 | 0 | |||
SPAL (loan) | 2018–19 | Serie A | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 3 | 0 | |
Ascoli (loan) | 2018–19 | Serie B | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 8 | 0 | |
Standard Liège (loan) | 2019–20 | Belgian First Division A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 3 | 0 |
Career total | 99 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 113 | 0 |
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
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Serbia | 2021 | 1 | 0 |
2022 | 5 | 0 | |
Total | 6 | 0 |
Torino F.C. – current squad | |
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Serbia squad – 2022 FIFA World Cup | ||
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