AFC Bournemouth sign £13m defender to replace Illia Zabarnyi with hours left of summer transfer window
AFC Bournemouth have completed the signing of 18-year-old centre-back Veljko Milosavljevic from Red Star Belgrade on a five-year contract.
Milosavljevic broke through at Red Star last season, making 14 league appearances as the club lifted the Serbian SuperLiga title. He also became the third youngest debutant in the club’s history.
This season, he has already featured in Champions League playoff matches and Red Star’s opening league fixtures.
On the international stage, the teenager has represented Serbia across multiple youth levels, and is set to link up with the under-21s during the upcoming international break before joining his new teammates on the south coast in a £13m deal.
In his first statement as a Cherries player, Milosavljevic said: “I am very happy to be part of the Bournemouth family. I can’t wait to meet the teammates, staff and fans of the club.
“It was always my dream to play in the Premier League as it is the best league in the world.
“I can’t wait to start working with Andoni Iraola as I’ve seen the progress that young players can make working with him.”
Milosavljevic is Bournemouth’s seventh and final addition of the summer window, following Adrien Truffert, Bafode Diakite, Djordje Petrovic, Ben Gannon-Doak, Amine Adli, and Alex Jimenez.
His arrival comes after a flurry of defensive departures from the Vitality Stadium this summer, including Dean Huijsen, Milos Kerkez and Illia Zabaryni, with the latter joining Paris Saint-Germain.