Who is Petar Stanic, the new Milinkovic-Savic on Milan’s radar, and how much does he cost? He is the Europa League’s top scorer

Petar Stanic was born in Serbia on 14 August 2001 in Pancevo, a major city in the country located half an hour’s drive from Belgrade, in a climate that was far from easy to cope with, given that just two years earlier, in 1999, it had been devastated by war and NATO bombing of the major refinery in the area.

Stanic holds a Croatian passport and, early in his football career, he literally travelled the length and breadth of Serbia. After making his debut with Dinamo Pancevo, he moved to their rivals, Zeleznicar Pancevo. Red Star Belgrade then took a chance on him by signing him, but after just one year he went out on loan to Spartak Subotica before being signed by FK Backa Topola. 

His tour of the Balkans came to an end in the summer of 2025 when Ludogorets in Bulgaria invested €1.8 million to sign him on a contract until 30 June 2028, firmly believing in his potential to break through.

Stanic is a young man who is incredibly focused on his career, and in his daily life – as he himself explained in an interview during his time at Red Star – he is 100% dedicated to football in an effort to make his dream come true. 

Training and home, few distractions, especially at night, because: “I struggle to get to sleep, which is another reason why I avoid watching videos or looking at my phone before I go to sleep. I love watching films and pasta. I could eat it all the time and in huge quantities. What don’t I like? Winter.”

Stanic started out as a central midfielder but, this season with Ludogorets, he is developing into a physical and far more attacking attacking midfielder. A imposing figure standing over 1.86 metres tall, he possesses a keen eye for goal and excellent timing when making runs into the box. In Serbia, some have compared him to the early Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who later became a centre-forward, but in terms of his characteristics, he reminds us much more of his compatriot Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, with whom he could share the role of attacking central midfielder.

This season, under Norwegian manager Per-Mathias Hogmo, he has really come into his own. In 42 appearances across all competitions, he has scored 14 goals and provided 9 assists, but it is in the Europa League that his performances have caught the eye of the top clubs. With 7 goals in 10 matches, he is currently the competition’s top scorer alongside Nottingham Forest’s Igor Jesus.

Among the clubs keeping a close eye on him is Milan, who have sent scouts on several occasions to watch him in action, as was the case during Ludogorets’ victory over CSKA Sofia, in which he once again found the net. 

The Bulgarian club regards him as a rare gem and, should he be sold, aims to secure the best transfer deal in its history. Obviously, the price is within Milan’s reach, given that the asking price, at least for now, does not exceed €10 million.

All the latest updates in real time! Join the CALCIOMERCATO.COM WhatsApp channel: click here