Aberdeen signing Nicolas Milanovic has the attacking “weapons” to take Scottish and European group stage football by storm, says his former boss.
Alen Stajcic is manager of Australian A-League side Western Sydney Wanderers who sold the 23-year-old to the Dons for a fee of around £400,000.
Winger Milanovic penned a three-year contract with Aberdeen holding the option to extend that by a further year.
Stajcic revealed Milanovic rejected offers from a number of European clubs to sign with Aberdeen.
Milanovic was recently crowned A-League player of the year.
Exciting player with ‘lots of weapons’
Talking exclusively from Sydney, Stajcic says the winger’s skill, goal-scoring prowess, speed and aggression will excite Aberdeen fans.
He said: “Nicolas is probably the player with the most weapons in the A-League.
“He can shoot off both feet and his left foot really is a weapon.
“Nicolas can take people on, he is quick, mobile and is also positive and aggressive with the ball.
“He has lots of weapons and is a very exciting player.
“Aberdeen have qualified for Europe and having the chance to show his ability across the Euro leagues was an important factor.
“There’s no doubt in my mind he can perform at that level.
“Nicolas will add something to Aberdeen who have a lot of good young players.”
Milanovic signed for home city club Western Sydney Wanders in February 2023 from Western United.
Milanovic rejected European offers
The winger’s performances earned him selection in the A-Leagues All Stars squad where he scored against English Premier League Newcastle United.
In October last year Milanovic signed a contract extension until the end of the 2025-26 season, despite several clubs being interested in signing him.
The near £400,000 outlaid by the Dons for Milanovic is a club record fee received by Western Sydney Wanderers.
Stajcic said: “He had a number of offers from across all of Europe.
“It isn’t as if Aberdeen is the first thing he has jumped at as Nicolas considered a lot of different options.
“The move to Aberdeen is something he settled in his own mind and made for his own future.
“We all know the history of Aberdeen and also a lot of Australian players have gone to the Scottish Premiership in recent years.
“Nicolas is his own guy and made his own decision which was certainly a well thought out one to move to Aberdeen.
“Nicolas also had a number of offers, even in the January transfer window.
“He hasn’t jumped at the first opportunity as he has been measured and calculated to get the best one.”
Milanovic is one of four new signings secured by Aberdeen boss Jimmy Thelin so far this summer.
Named A-League player of the year
Another two of those additions are Australian, striker Kusini Yengi and keeper Nick Suman.
Yengi and Suman both previously played for Western Sydney Wanderers, but before Stajcic was manager.
Milanovic was recently awarded the Johnny Warren Medal for best player in the A-League.
It was reward for a season where the Australian under-23 cap scored 12 goals and delivered six assists.
Stajcic said: “Nicolas has been a late developer in his career as he only really started to break through the ranks in the A-League in the last few years.
“In the last 24 months he became one of the premier players in the competition.
“This year he really elevated his game even further and also added consistency, which he maybe didn’t have before.
“Previously it was more flashes of brilliance with highs and lows throughout a game.
“But Nicolas became one of the most consistent players in the A-League.
“He is the first Western Sydney Wanderer player to get the A-League player of the year award in the history of our club.
“For a young player to get an award like that is fantastic.
“Some of the players who have won that award in our league have been superb and had great careers.
“The future is bright for him.”
Aberdeen begin the campaign with a Premiership clash away at Hearts on Monday, August 4.
Milanovic delivered ‘magic moments’
Thelin’s side are also guaranteed European group stage action in the upcoming season until at least mid-December.
The Dons enter at the Europa League play-off stage with ties on August 21 and 28.
Stajcic, 51, is confident Milanovic will quickly integrate into life at Aberdeen and be ready to make a quick impact.
He said: “It is always tough moving to Europe not only in the football part but adjusting to the new life.
“However, Nicolas has matured a lot and has every chance of being successful in Europe.
“In the first 10 rounds of games he was still a little bit erratic and up and down where he would still produce magic moments for us and score goals.
“However, he started putting together consistent full 90 minutes of high quality action.
“That will be essential for him moving to Europe where you have to hit the ground running.
“You can’t afford to have four or five average games.
“You have to start strong to get the confidence of yourself, your team-mates and the fans to get everyone on board.
“He has played a lot of games in the A-League and is very confident.”
Milanovic received a debut call-up to the Australian senior squad last month for a 10-day training camp in Abu Dhabi.
Milanovic’s World Cup aspirations
However he did not make national boss Tony Popovic’s final squad for the key World Cup qualifiers against Japan (1-0 win) and Saudi Arabia (2-1 win).
Winning those two fixtures secured Australia’s qualification for the 2026 World Cup finals.
Stajcic said: “He is an ambitious player who is hungry to play for our national team.
“Nicolas is also hungry to get to the World Cup to show he can perform at the highest level.
“Unfortunately he didn’t make the final squad for our last two qualifiers but he is definitely knocking on the door.
“He will certainly be a national team player for Australia in the next few years.
“Nicolas has ambition and wants to show he has the tools to be successful at that level.
“He has that little bit of X-factor and is a player who likes to do things a little bit different.
“To have that extra tricks in the locker on and off the pitch.
“Nicolas is a fantastic team player and he also has all the individual skills to go along with that.”
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