Dejan Joveljić ( sr-Cyrl, Дејан Јовељић; born 7 August 1999) is a Serbian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a striker for

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

club

Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The ad ...

and the Serbia national team.

Club career

Red Star Belgrade

2016–17 season

Born in

Bijeljina Bijeljina ( sr-cyrl, Бијељина) is a city and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the provincial center of Semberija, a geographic region in the country's northeast. As of 2013, it has a population of 107,715 ...

, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Joveljić played with the local club Sloga Junajted, before he joined Serbian top-tier club

Red Star Belgrade Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club), commonly referred to as Crvena zvezda () and colloquially referred to as Red Star Belgrade in anglophone media, is a ...

in his early years. After almost seven years with the club, passing the whole youth categories, Joveljić signed his first professional contract on 16 March 2016, along with several teammates. Joveljić joined the first team under coach

Miodrag Božović Miodrag "Grof" Božović (, ; born 22 June 1968) is a Montenegrin football manager and former player. Playing career Club A tall central defender, Božović played alongside Yugoslav and Montenegrin legends Predrag Mijatović and Dejan Saviće ...

in 2016, but did not play official matches during the

2016–17 Serbian SuperLiga The 2016–17 Serbian SuperLiga was the eleventh season of the Serbian SuperLiga. Red Star are the defending champions. The fixtures were announced on 15 June 2016. Red Star Belgrade drew the highest average home attendance of the league (9,056). ...

campaign due to

mononucleosis Infectious mononucleosis (IM, mono), also known as glandular fever, is an infection usually caused by the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV). Most people are infected by the virus as children, when the disease produces few or no symptoms. In young adu ...

he was diagnosed with in August 2016. In the meantime, he was listed in top 60 youth footballers by

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

. After he missed the rest of 2016 without training, Joveljić returned to the field in early 2017, playing with youth team until the end of a season. He was also nominated as one of the competitors for the

Golden Boy award The Golden Boy is an award established by Tuttosport that is given by sports journalists to a young male footballer playing in Europe perceived to have been the most impressive during a calendar year (two halves to two separate seasons). All nom ...

in 2017.

2017–18 season

In summer 2017, Joveljić presented as one of the club's top 10 youth prospects and passed the whole pre-season training with the first squad. He became a regular member of the first team from the beginning of September 2017, after a furious period in the Serbian youth league. He was named as the third choice striker behind

Richmond Boakye Richmond Yiadom Boakye (born 28 January 1993) is a Ghanaian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker for Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnian Premier League club FK ...

and

Aleksandar Pešić Aleksandar Pešić (Serbian Cyrillic: Александар Пешић; born 21 May 1992) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ferencváros. Club career Europe Pešić made his senior debut with Radnički Niš on 24 ...

. Later, on 19 September same year, Joveljić extended his contract with the club until 2021. He spent his first time in protocol for a senior game sitting on the bench as an unused substitution for a match against Mladost Lučani on 22 October 2017. He made his official debut for Red Star Belgrade on 10 December 2017, replacing Pešić in 70 minute of the

Serbian SuperLiga The Serbian Super League (), also known as Mozzart SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Serbia and the highest level of the Serbian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a sys ...

match against

Borac Čačak Borac may refer to: * FK Borac Banja Luka, a football club from Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina ** RK Borac Banja Luka, an affiliated team handball club ** OK Borac, an affiliated volleyball club * FK Borac Čačak, a football club from Čač ...

. On 5 May 2018, Joveljić got his first time in the starting lineup for a senior game, scoring a twice in 5–0 home victory over Spartak Subotica. Finally, Joveljić scored in the last match of the season against

Voždovac Voždovac ( sr-Cyrl, Вождовац, ) is a Subdivisions of Belgrade, municipality of the city of Belgrade. According to the 2022 census results, the municipality has a population of 174,864 inhabitants. The municipality is located in the south ...

on 19 May 2018, for the first trophy in his professional career.

2018–19 season

In summer 2018, after overgrown youth selection, which previously qualified to the

2018–19 UEFA Youth League The 2018–19 UEFA Youth League was the sixth season of the UEFA Youth League, a European youth club football competition organised by UEFA. The final was played on 29 April 2019 at the Colovray Stadium in Nyon, Switzerland, between English sid ...

, Joveljić started new season as a fully senior. Following the complete pre-season period he passed with the first team, Joveljić was licensed for the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League qualifications. Following both of matches against Spartaks Jūrmala in the first round he missed, Joveljić started an opening match of the

2018–19 Serbian SuperLiga The 2018–19 Serbian SuperLiga was the thirteenth season of the Serbian SuperLiga, the top tier of football league in Serbia. Red Star was the defending champions from the previous season. Teams The league consisted of 16 teams: fourteen te ...

, scoring in 3–0 victory over Dinamo Vranje on 20 July 2018.

Eintracht Frankfurt

On 14 June 2019, Joveljić signed a deal with German side

Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a German professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The club currently plays in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German footb ...

for a fee of €4 million.

Loan to Anderlecht

Joveljić joined Belgian club

Anderlecht Anderlecht (; ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, B ...

on loan until the end of the season on 31 January 2020.

Loan to Wolfsberger AC

Joveljić spent the 2020–21 season on loan at

Austrian Bundesliga The Bundesliga ( , "Federal League"), also known as Admiral Bundesliga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Austria and the highest level of the Austrian football league system. The competition decides the A ...

side

Wolfsberger AC Wolfsberger AC, commonly referred to as Wolfsberg or simply WAC, is an Austrian association football club from Wolfsberg, Carinthia, who currently play in the Austrian Bundesliga. Between the 2007–08 and 2011–12 seasons, Wolfsberger AC enter ...

. He finished the season as the club's top scorer.

LA Galaxy

On 5 August 2021, Joveljić signed a four-and-a-half-year deal with

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanctioned by the United ...

side

LA Galaxy The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Gal ...

. He signed as a U22 Initiative player. On 15 August 2024, Joveljić scored a brace in

El Tráfico El Tráfico, also known as the Los Angeles Derby, is a soccer rivalry between the two Major League Soccer (MLS) clubs based in the Greater Los Angeles area, the LA Galaxy and Los Angeles FC. The rivalry is one of two crosstown derbies in M ...

, securing LA Galaxy's 4–2 victory.

Sporting Kansas City

On 1 February 2025, Joveljić signed a three year designated player contract with

for a transfer fee of $4 million. This marked the first cash-for-player trade in MLS history.

International career

Being an ethnic

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history, and language. They primarily live in Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia ...

born and raised in the

Republika Srpska Republika Srpska ( sr-Cyrl, Република Српска, ; also referred to as the Republic of Srpska or Serb Republic) is one of the two Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entities within Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other bein ...

entity within

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

, Joveljić has represented

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

since young age. After games with Serbian under-16 & under-17 national teams, Joveljić made his debut for under-18 level on 15 December 2015 in a match against

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. Later he missed the whole 2016 due to injury and returned to the team scoring a goal in a match against

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

on 20 April 2017. Playing for the team, Joveljić noted 6 goals on 6 matches, including games against

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

when he scored a twice at each. In August 2017, Joveljić was called into the Serbia U19 squad, when he made a debut at the memorial tournament "Stevan Vilotić – Ćele". Scoring a twice in 3–1 victory over

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, Joveljić contributed to winning a trophy, after which he was elected for the most prospective player on the tournament. Joveljić got his first call in Serbian under-21 team by coach

Goran Đorović Goran Đorović ( sr-Cyrl, Горан Ђopoвић; born 11 November 1971) is a Serbian former professional footballer who played mainly a central defender but also as a left-back. In his country, he played for Priština and Red Star. He spent ...

in December 2017. He made his debut for the team in away friendly against

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

on 17 December 2017. While with under-19 level, Joveljić also scored against

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

in March 2018, missing to qualify for the

2018 UEFA European Under-19 Championship The 2018 UEFA European Under-19 Championship (also known as UEFA Under-19 Euro 2018) was the 17th edition of the UEFA European Under-19 Championship (67th edition if the Under-18 and Junior eras are included), the annual international youth foot ...

with Serbia. He made his debut for the senior national team on 7 June 2021 in a friendly against Jamaica.

Style of play

Joveljić is a 1.80 m tall striker, who usually operates as a

centre forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on be ...

, being capable of playing as a winger. He has been started tracked during youth career and named as one of the most prospective players in academy, after which he joined the first team. Later he missed a period due to injury and a lack of weight, so he stayed out of the senior football since the 2016–17 campaign. In his final season with youth team, Joveljić affirmed as a poacher and top goalscorer with several

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

s. He was also compared with Argentine footballer

Mauro Icardi Mauro Emanuel Icardi Rivero (born 19 February 1993) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a striker for Turkish Süper Lig club Galatasaray, whom he captains. Icardi began his footballing career at the youth teams of Vecindario ...

and a compatriot

Luka Jović Luka Jović ( sr-Cyrl, Лука Јовић; born 23 December 1997) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a striker for the Serbia national team. Early life Jović was born in Loznica, FR Yugoslavia. He was raised in the small vil ...

. Joveljić uses both legs and he is also a good header and penalty taker. Joveljić was named as a

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

scoring three goals as a captain of the U19 squad in the youth Eternal Derby on 16 November 2017. He collected 33 goals in 14 appearances at total, during the first half-season in Serbian youth league.

Personal life

Joveljić attended a

private school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; #Name, see below for other names) is the List of cities in Serbia, second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pannoni ...

. Besides football, he likes to play

billiards Cue sports are a wide variety of games of skill played with a cue stick, which is used to strike billiard balls and thereby cause them to move around a cloth-covered table bounded by elastic bumpers known as . Cue sports, a category of stic ...

and

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

, and he is also a Rubik's Cube enthusiast. His personal best is 39 seconds. In 2023 he competed at the European Championships in

Blitz Chess Fast chess, also known as speed chess, is a type of chess in which each player is given less time than classical chess time controls allow. Fast chess is subdivided, by decreasing time controls, into rapid chess, blitz chess, and bullet chess. A ...

in Zagreb, Croatia. With six points from 13 matches he made it to position 330 among 556 participants.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Serbia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Joveljić goal.''

Honours

Red Star Belgrade *

: 2017–18, 2018–19 LA Galaxy *

MLS Cup MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Playoffs. The game is held in November or December and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Confere ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Western Conference (MLS) The Western Conference is one of Major League Soccer's two conferences, along with the Eastern Conference. The division of the conferences broadly follows the path of the Mississippi River from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, with club ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Joveljic, Dejan 1999 births Living people Footballers from Bijeljina Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Men's association football forwards Serbian men's footballers Serbia men's youth international footballers Serbia men's under-21 international footballers Serbia men's international footballers Red Star Belgrade footballers Eintracht Frankfurt players R.S.C. Anderlecht players Wolfsberger AC players LA Galaxy players Sporting Kansas City players Serbian SuperLiga players Bundesliga players Belgian Pro League players Austrian Football Bundesliga players Major League Soccer players Serbian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Austria Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Austria Serbian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Designated Players (MLS)