Samir Nurkovic - Kaizer ChiefsKaizer Chiefs

Who is Kaizer Chiefs new striker Samir Nurkovic?

Earlier this week, Kaizer Chiefs announced the signing of Samir Nurkovic on a three-year deal to add firepower to their strikeforce.

But who is the new Amakhosi striker?

Goal profiles Nurkovic and takes a look at his career from when he first made his professional debut in 2010.    

Article continues below

Nurkovic is unknown to South African football fans, but according to Amakhosi, he is a Serbian attacker who was born on the 13th of June 1992. 

The lanky striker began his professional career in Slovakia nine years ago when he was promoted to MFK Košice B side from the club's youth academy. 

He spent four seasons with MFK Košice senior team between 2011 and 2015 without really making great strides as he scored just once in eight appearances for the Slovak club. 

However, two of the four seasons were away on loan at three different clubs - Zlate Moravce, Dunajska Streda, and Duslo Sala - before completing a permanent move to Vrable in 2016. 

It was as at Duslo Sala where Nurkovic started hitting form by finding the back of the net 11 times in 22 starts.

During the 2016/17 season, Nurkovic joined Pohronie, another Slovak football club. He scored nine goals in 18 appearances before returning to Zlate Moravce for a second spell. 

His return to Moravce proved to be a step in the wrong direction as he struggled for game time, making just four appearances and scoring just once. 

Nurkovic PS

In an attempt to revive his career, Nurkovic returned to Pohronie for the 2017/18 season where he scored four goals in 10 games during the first half of that campaign. 

KFC Kormano then came knocking for his signature, and he joined them for the remainder of the 2017/18 season. 

Nurkovic added to his tally of four by scoring 12 more goals in 13 league appearances for Kormano. 

He had his first full season with Kormano at the start of the 2018/19 season where he scored a whopping 23 goals in 28 league matches. 

While the relative merits of the PSL versus the Slovakian league might be debated amongst fans, Nurkovic's goalscoring ability cannot be questioned and Chiefs definitely have a man capable of solving their goalscoring problems if he settles into South African life quickly. 

Overall, the 27-year-old attacker has scored 62 goals in 101 starts since the 2011/12 season. 

If Nurkovic can replicate the same form that made him a household name at Kormano in the last two seasons then Chiefs can surely aim higher and dream big as they look to end their four-year trophy drought in the upcoming campaign.   

Advertisement