Latest news with #Milenkovic
New York Times
28-05-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Nottingham Forest's player of the season: Nikola Milenkovic
There was a moment early in the season at Stamford Bridge when — amid all the ceremony and pomp that comes before a modern Premier League game — Nikola Milenkovic stood perfectly still. With the two teams lined up and waiting to exchange handshakes, many players shuffled from foot to foot or fidgeted nervously. The big Serbian, however, stared straight ahead of him, his face a mask of pure focus. Stoic. Calm. Ready. Advertisement It is a moment that still stands out. This was precisely the attitude and demeanour that has helped him to flourish at Nottingham Forest. Milenkovic grew up playing football on the streets of Serbia, at a time when the Balkan War of the 1990s was not too distant a memory. He still has the Manchester United shirt he wore on many of those days, which carries the name of his idol, Nemanja Vidic. It is easy, but also entirely justified, to make comparisons between the two men. Like Vidic at Old Trafford — where he made 300 appearances between 2006 and 2014 — Milenkovic has already established himself as a transformative figure in a red shirt. His presence has made the entire Forest defence even stronger and more disciplined. Goalkeeper Matz Sels, who shared the Golden Glove award with Arsenal's David Raya, after keeping 13 clean sheets, and the other three members of that back four, Murillo, Ola Aina and Neco Williams, were all among the other credible contenders for the player of the season award at Forest. The 20-goal striker Chris Wood, winger Anthony Elanga, and creative heartbeats Morgan Gibbs-White and Elliot Anderson could also have been spoken about as being in contention. But nobody else has quite had the same impact on the side as Milenkovic. 'Nikola has done great,' said Nuno Espirito Santo in his press conference after the final day defeat to Chelsea. 'Credit to him. Since he arrived, he has made a big impact on the team, not only on the games, but with his presence and leadership. But for me, it is not a player of the season, it should be the team of the season.' Like Vidic, Milenkovic is a powerful, no-nonsense defender. He is also the captain of his national side. Ryan Yates, the Forest club captain, has described him as being a 'warrior and a leader — exactly what you would expect', in a previous interview with The Athletic. Advertisement Murillo had already made a positive impact last season. But the arrival of Milenkovic, 27, seems to have helped the Brazilian to take another step forward. The duo have quickly forged one of the most formidable partnerships in the Premier League. Milenkovic cost around £11million ($14.9m) when he joined from Fiorentina last summer, and they each represent some of the best business Forest have done in the modern era. Milenkovic has scored five goals this season, four of which came in victories — away at Old Trafford, Portman Road and the London Stadium, and at the City Ground against Aston Villa. But it has been at the back where he has made the biggest difference. Last season, Forest conceded 22 goals from set-piece situations. This time, with Milenkovic in their ranks, they have conceded nine — only five teams have conceded fewer goals from corners and free kicks. At the other end, Forest have scored 17 times from set pieces, which is the most in the top flight this season. That is not down to Milenkovic alone, but his 6ft 5in frame has unquestionably been a factor, with the former Partizan player having also provided two assists. Milenkovic has won 71.63 per cent of his aerial duels this season — 101 of the 141 he has contested. Among Premier League first-team regulars, James Tarkowski of Everton has the best percentage, at 74.64. Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk has a percentage of 72.12. As Nuno pointed out, the player of the season award could reasonably have been renamed the 'team of the season award' during a campaign in which Forest followed up back-to-back fights against relegation by pushing for Champions League qualification. But it is the Conference League that they will compete in from next August — a competition that Milenkovic knows well, having twice reached the final with Fiorentina (2023 and 2024). Advertisement The Italian side were beaten by Olympiacos in Athens last May, but Milenkovic produced a performance that helped to persuade Evangelos Marinakis, the figurehead at both Olympiacos and Forest, that he was a player worth signing. A year later, it feels like an astute investment.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Premier League 2024-25 review: players of the season
Pedants may protest that Eze's sublime FA Cup form (quarter-final and semi-final screamers before a winner at Wembley) is inadmissable evidence in a Premier League review. But he was already one of the players of the season long before helping Crystal Palace win their first major trophy. Always capable of the spectacular, Eze's stay at Selhurst Park had been characterised by inconsistency, but his finest season has come after he finished 2023-24 in red-hot form and earned a place in England's Euros squad. The 26-year-old south Londoner has matured into a relentless menace to opposing defences who is downright unplayable at times. His eight Premier League goals and eight assists helped Palace to mid-table respectability under Oliver Glasner despite a worryingly slow start; they were winless in their opening eight league games. Playing in front of Adam Wharton, English football's answer to Andrea Pirlo, certainly hasn't hurt: is the former QPR player Eze now poised to follow Michael Olise and join one of Europe's super-clubs? The romance of a European campaign under Glasner may prove more alluring but, regardless, his potential looks unlimited. Nottingham Forest's counterattacking style has been founded on rock-solid defence, where no one has been more influential than Milenkovic. The all-action Murillo attracts more attention but the commanding, calm presence of the Serb gives his Brazilian teammate licence to shine. It is hard to think of such a well-balanced central defensive partnership elsewhere in the division, with Milenkovic's aerial ability allied to Murillo's pace. Nuno Espírito Santo has also employed a back three, with Morato slotting in alongside his compatriot Murillo and the former Fiorentina defender Milenkovic. That was Nuno's approach in December's 2-0 win at Brentford, one of several notable results that showed Forest would go the distance in the European qualification race. An honourable mention must go to Mats Sels, the goalkeeper with a joint league-best 13 clean sheets, and several Forest regulars – Ola Aina, Neco Williams, Morgan Gibbs-White, Anthony Elanga and Chris Wood – might have been chosen instead of the Serbia centre-back. Forest's team spirit has been one of the most enjoyable facets of the season; if the Guardian hosted a lavish end-of-season dinner, Milenkovic would probably use his acceptance speech to dedicate the award to his teammates. Palmer makes the cut for the second year running on the strength of his frankly ridiculous pre-Christmas form. Asking the England forward why he could not maintain such a level for the entire season would be akin to asking Joseph Heller why he never wrote anything as good after Catch-22. Goals, assists and Panenka penalties rained down on Chelsea's hapless opponents between August and January as the 23-year-old established himself as the most exciting creative talent in the league. Like Eze there is something old-school in Palmer's approach: a willingness to take defenders on and to attempt the outrageous, disproving the idea that young players are over-coached and robotic. You won't see a better pass than Palmer's curling long-range effort to create Nicolas Jackson's goal in October's win against Newcastle, but the Paul Cézanne of the Premier League provided so many inspired moments. All four goals against Brighton, an artful strike to seal victory against Aston Villa, before his orchestration of the comeback from 2-0 down against Tottenham, sealed with an impudent Panenka. ''Why not me?' is the mindset I've adopted, especially this year,' Morgan Rogers told Ben Fisher last August. 'Why can't I be the best player on the pitch today and show what I'm about?' That mindset served Rogers well in the campaign to come. His pace is frightening but pace without control and good decision-making has never been much use. Aged 22 the Aston Villa forward has shown remarkable maturity and looked at home competing against Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, while helping Villa finish in the top six. Rogers has forced his way into the thinking of Thomas Tuchel, the England manager, and prompted a concession from Pep Guardiola that Manchester City let an 'exceptional player' slip through their fingers when he left for Middlesbrough in 2023. The most notable thing is how natural his progress has seemed. In four seasons at City Rogers was loaned to Lincoln, Bournemouth and Blackpool, before a season at Boro. Apparently the perfect pathway for him to blossom under Unai Emery at Villa. Twenty-nine goals, 18 assists, the Premier League crown secured – in effect if not mathematically – before the clocks changed. Anything else to add? The main jeopardy for Liverpool supporters during the club's march to the title was the uncertainty surrounding Salah's future at Anfield but that has concluded happily; the 32-year-old last month signed a two-year deal. Salah tops the season charts for goals and assists despite his prodigious output slowing recently. On 8 March, two goals against Southampton took the Egyptian to 27 goals and 17 assists, at which point he looked set to obliterate the goal involvements record for a Premier League season. Two goals and one assist followed in the remaining nine matches. 'Throughout this season he's been almost unhuman,' said Slot after Salah missed a chance against Brighton last week. 'There were moments where he was human … but the good thing is, this hardly ever happens.' The winger's all-time numbers for Liverpool in the Premier League – 301 matches, 186 goals, 87 assists – support Slot's assertion. He appears to have scope to keep improving.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Premier League 2024-25 review: signings of the season
Nikola Milenkovic (Nottingham Forest) Nottingham Forest had a huge problem with defending set pieces last season and Nuno Espírito Santo demanded a centre-back who could dominate in the air. The club were efficient in their business, signing the brick-headed Serb from Fiorentina for £10m. It was a bargain and the centre-back fitted in immediately alongside the Brazilian Murillo as the club created one of the best defences in the league. The pair complement one another perfectly and, along with Matz Sels, created the foundation for Forest's tilt at qualifying for the Champions League by dominating some of the best strikers in the world. After missing the opening match of the season against Bournemouth through suspension, Milenkovic, 27, has played every single minute in the Premier League. It is rare that an outfield player is an ever-present but the centre-back has been integral and his consistency cannot be underestimated, helping Murillo thrive. It is often the Brazilian who gets the most credit as he is the more flamboyant of the two but Milenkovic deserves just as much praise for what Forest have achieved this season. Dean Huijsen (Bournemouth) Bournemouth's recruitment policy is one of the best in the league and they know how to spot a bargain. Huijsen joined from Juventus after a spell on loan at Roma, where he spent a large part of his time on the bench. So the centre-back, 19 at the time, jumped at the opportunity to test himself in the Premier League. Most teenagers might have been somewhat hesitant at the prospect of facing Mohamed Salah and Erling Haaland but Huijsen is a different breed. A relaxed character, the son of former AZ Alkmaar and Go Ahead Eagles player Donny, he is known for his calm demeanour on and off the pitch. The aggressive defender offers a maturity rarely seen in a player of his age and has been integral to Andoni Iraola's plans. His form has earned him his first caps for Spain, where he was brought up after being born in the Netherlands, and plenty of admirers were willing to spend £50m on acquiring his services in the summer but in the end he will return to his homeland and join Real Madrid, who he turned down as a young player. Yankuba Minteh (Brighton) With Newcastle needing to ship a few players out to resolve any lingering profit and sustainability rules concerns, Minteh and Elliot Anderson were sacrificed for the sake of the accountant. Both have gone on to shine at their new clubs, and Minteh was eager to let the visiting Newcastle supporters know it when he scored against them at the Amex Stadium in May, celebrating in front of the away end with a confused bit of finger-wagging and pointing at his Brighton shirt. It might not have been the best choreographed piece of revenge but he got his message across. The Gambian has spent most of the season trying to prove Newcastle wrong for selling him with six goals and four assists. It is not easy to get minutes on the wing under Fabian Hürzeler who has Simon Adingra and Kaoru Mitoma as part of his arsenal but Minteh's direct running and skill make him difficult to handle for full-backs. He will turn 21 over the summer, giving him plenty of years to hone his skills and make him an even greater threat for Brighton. Ismaïla Sarr (Crystal Palace) The price tag of £12m and the fact that the winger had enjoyed a spell with Watford, meant Sarr was not an extremely high-profile signing when he joined Palace from Marseille. There are greater headline-grabbers at Selhurst Park and that suits Sarr down to the ground, happy to express himself freely on the flank, while the expectations are placed upon others. He always wanted to be playing in the Premier League and eagerly accepted the proposition to replace Michael Olise in the Eagles' squad. Considering what Olise did at Selhurst Park to earn himself a move to Bayern Munich, Sarr faced a difficult task but under the guidance of Oliver Glasner he has been able to make south London his home. After a slow start, Sarr broke into the starting lineup in late October and has not looked back after earning the confidence of the coaching staff. He has featured in every Premier League match and his output has improved as the season has progressed, the highlight being two goals and an assist in December's win at Brighton. Meanwhile in the FA Cup he scored twice to dispatch Aston Villa in the semi-finals, helping Palace back to Wembley for their day of glory against Manchester City in the final. Liam Delap (Ipswich) The striker had a respectable time on loan at Hull in 2023-24, scoring eight goals in 31 games in the Championship but they are not the sort of figures that guarantee Premier League success. Manchester City did not want to keep him, leaving Southampton and Ipswich to battle it out for his signature. Delap is very much a No 9, a rare breed in modern football and he is able to mix physicality with clever movement. His goals have not been enough to keep Kieran McKenna's Tractor Boys up – or even close for that matter – but Delap has shown he deserves to be at this level and surely will be again next season. His movement in the box has earned him his goals and he is a constant pest for defenders, providing some of Ipswich's best moments, in what has been a difficult season, scoring to help see off Tottenham and Chelsea. Portman Road was a smart stepping stone for Delap, who will not be short of offers, especially with a £30m buyout clause in his contract. Manchester United, Chelsea and Newcastle are all interested.
The Guardian
26-05-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Premier League 2024-25 review: signings of the season
Nottingham Forest had a huge problem with defending set pieces last season and Nuno Espírito Santo demanded a centre-back who could dominate in the air. The club were efficient in their business, signing the brick-headed Serb from Fiorentina for £10m. It was a bargain and the centre-back fitted in immediately alongside the Brazilian Murillo as the club created one of the best defences in the league. The pair complement one another perfectly and, along with Matz Sels, created the foundation for Forest's tilt at qualifying for the Champions League by dominating some of the best strikers in the world. After missing the opening match of the season against Bournemouth through suspension, Milenkovic, 27, has played every single minute in the Premier League. It is rare that an outfield player is an ever-present but the centre-back has been integral and his consistency cannot be underestimated, helping Murillo thrive. It is often the Brazilian who gets the most credit as he is the more flamboyant of the two but Milenkovic deserves just as much praise for what Forest have achieved this season. Bournemouth's recruitment policy is one of the best in the league and they know how to spot a bargain. Huijsen joined from Juventus after a spell on loan at Roma, where he spent a large part of his time on the bench. So the centre-back, 19 at the time, jumped at the opportunity to test himself in the Premier League. Most teenagers might have been somewhat hesitant at the prospect of facing Mohamed Salah and Erling Haaland but Huijsen is a different breed. A relaxed character, the son of former AZ Alkmaar and Go Ahead Eagles player Donny, he is known for his calm demeanour on and off the pitch. The aggressive defender offers a maturity rarely seen in a player of his age and has been integral to Andoni Iraola's plans. His form has earned him his first caps for Spain, where he was brought up after being born in the Netherlands, and plenty of admirers were willing to spend £50m on acquiring his services in the summer but in the end he will return to his homeland and join Real Madrid, who he turned down as a young player. With Newcastle needing to ship a few players out to resolve any lingering profit and sustainability rules concerns, Minteh and Elliot Anderson were sacrificed for the sake of the accountant. Both have gone on to shine at their new clubs, and Minteh was eager to let the visiting Newcastle supporters know it when he scored against them at the Amex Stadium in May, celebrating in front of the away end with a confused bit of finger-wagging and pointing at his Brighton shirt. It might not have been the best choreographed piece of revenge but he got his message across. The Gambian has spent most of the season trying to prove Newcastle wrong for selling him with six goals and four assists. It is not easy to get minutes on the wing under Fabian Hürzeler who has Simon Adingra and Kaoru Mitoma as part of his arsenal but Minteh's direct running and skill make him difficult to handle for full-backs. He will turn 21 over the summer, giving him plenty of years to hone his skills and make him an even greater threat for Brighton. The price tag of £12m and the fact that the winger had enjoyed a spell with Watford, meant Sarr was not an extremely high-profile signing when he joined Palace from Marseille. There are greater headline-grabbers at Selhurst Park and that suits Sarr down to the ground, happy to express himself freely on the flank, while the expectations are placed upon others. He always wanted to be playing in the Premier League and eagerly accepted the proposition to replace Michael Olise in the Eagles' squad. Considering what Olise did at Selhurst Park to earn himself a move to Bayern Munich, Sarr faced a difficult task but under the guidance of Oliver Glasner he has been able to make south London his home. After a slow start, Sarr broke into the starting lineup in late October and has not looked back after earning the confidence of the coaching staff. He has featured in every Premier League match and his output has improved as the season has progressed, the highlight being two goals and an assist in December's win at Brighton. Meanwhile in the FA Cup he scored twice to dispatch Aston Villa in the semi-finals, helping Palace back to Wembley for their day of glory against Manchester City in the final. Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion The striker had a respectable time on loan at Hull in 2023-24, scoring eight goals in 31 games in the Championship but they are not the sort of figures that guarantee Premier League success. Manchester City did not want to keep him, leaving Southampton and Ipswich to battle it out for his signature. Delap is very much a No 9, a rare breed in modern football and he is able to mix physicality with clever movement. His goals have not been enough to keep Kieran McKenna's Tractor Boys up – or even close for that matter – but Delap has shown he deserves to be at this level and surely will be again next season. His movement in the box has earned him his goals and he is a constant pest for defenders, providing some of Ipswich's best moments, in what has been a difficult season, scoring to help see off Tottenham and Chelsea. Portman Road was a smart stepping stone for Delap, who will not be short of offers, especially with a £30m buyout clause in his contract. Manchester United, Chelsea and Newcastle are all interested.
The Guardian
26-05-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Premier League 2024-25 review: players of the season
Pedants may protest that Eze's sublime FA Cup form (quarter-final and semi-final screamers before a winner at Wembley) is inadmissable evidence in a Premier League review. But he was already one of the players of the season long before helping Crystal Palace win their first major trophy. Always capable of the spectacular, Eze's stay at Selhurst Park had been characterised by inconsistency, but his finest season has come after he finished 2023-24 in red-hot form and earned a place in England's Euros squad. The 26-year-old south Londoner has matured into a relentless menace to opposing defences who is downright unplayable at times. His eight Premier League goals and eight assists helped Palace to mid-table respectability under Oliver Glasner despite a worryingly slow start; they were winless in their opening eight league games. Playing in front of Adam Wharton, English football's answer to Andrea Pirlo, certainly hasn't hurt: is the former QPR player Eze now poised to follow Michael Olise and join one of Europe's super-clubs? The romance of a European campaign under Glasner may prove more alluring but, regardless, his potential looks unlimited. Nottingham Forest's counterattacking style has been founded on rock-solid defence, where no one has been more influential than Milenkovic. The all-action Murillo attracts more attention but the commanding, calm presence of the Serb gives his Brazilian teammate licence to shine. It is hard to think of such a well-balanced central defensive partnership elsewhere in the division, with Milenkovic's aerial ability allied to Murillo's pace. Nuno Espírito Santo has also employed a back three, with Morato slotting in alongside his compatriot Murillo and the former Fiorentina defender Milenkovic. That was Nuno's approach in December's 2-0 win at Brentford, one of several notable results that showed Forest would go the distance in the European qualification race. An honourable mention must go to Mats Sels, the goalkeeper with a joint league-best 13 clean sheets, and several Forest regulars – Ola Aina, Neco Williams, Morgan Gibbs-White, Anthony Elanga and Chris Wood – might have been chosen instead of the Serbia centre-back. Forest's team spirit has been one of the most enjoyable facets of the season; if the Guardian hosted a lavish end-of-season dinner, Milenkovic would probably use his acceptance speech to dedicate the award to his teammates. Palmer makes the cut for the second year running on the strength of his frankly ridiculous pre-Christmas form. Asking the England forward why he could not maintain such a level for the entire season would be akin to asking Joseph Heller why he never wrote anything as good after Catch-22. Goals, assists and Panenka penalties rained down on Chelsea's hapless opponents between August and January as the 23-year-old established himself as the most exciting creative talent in the league. Like Eze there is something old-school in Palmer's approach: a willingness to take defenders on and to attempt the outrageous, disproving the idea that young players are over-coached and robotic. You won't see a better pass than Palmer's curling long-range effort to create Nicolas Jackson's goal in October's win against Newcastle, but the Paul Cézanne of the Premier League provided so many inspired moments. All four goals against Brighton, an artful strike to seal victory against Aston Villa, before his orchestration of the comeback from 2-0 down against Tottenham, sealed with an impudent Panenka. ''Why not me?' is the mindset I've adopted, especially this year,' Morgan Rogers told Ben Fisher last August. 'Why can't I be the best player on the pitch today and show what I'm about?' That mindset served Rogers well in the campaign to come. His pace is frightening but pace without control and good decision-making has never been much use. Aged 22 the Aston Villa forward has shown remarkable maturity and looked at home competing against Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, while helping Villa finish in the top six. Rogers has forced his way into the thinking of Thomas Tuchel, the England manager, and prompted a concession from Pep Guardiola that Manchester City let an 'exceptional player' slip through their fingers when he left for Middlesbrough in 2023. The most notable thing is how natural his progress has seemed. In four seasons at City Rogers was loaned to Lincoln, Bournemouth and Blackpool, before a season at Boro. Apparently the perfect pathway for him to blossom under Unai Emery at Villa. Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion Twenty-nine goals, 18 assists, the Premier League crown secured – in effect if not mathematically – before the clocks changed. Anything else to add? The main jeopardy for Liverpool supporters during the club's march to the title was the uncertainty surrounding Salah's future at Anfield but that has concluded happily; the 32-year-old last month signed a two-year deal. Salah tops the season charts for goals and assists despite his prodigious output slowing recently. On 8 March, two goals against Southampton took the Egyptian to 27 goals and 17 assists, at which point he looked set to obliterate the goal involvements record for a Premier League season. Two goals and one assist followed in the remaining nine matches. 'Throughout this season he's been almost unhuman,' said Slot after Salah missed a chance against Brighton last week. 'There were moments where he was human … but the good thing is, this hardly ever happens.' The winger's all-time numbers for Liverpool in the Premier League – 301 matches, 186 goals, 87 assists – support Slot's assertion. He appears to have scope to keep improving.
