Ivan Ilić: Hellas Verona's Serbian Gem

Under the guidance of Pep Guardiola, Manchester City has been one of the dominant forces of the English Premier League in recent years. Having won three league titles since the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach arrived in 2016, the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, İlkay Gündoğan, and David Silva playing important roles in the midfield.

With such established players influencing the play, it has been hard for any youngsters to break through; Phil Foden being a minor exception. Serbian youngster Ivan Ilić was not able to earn those opportunities at Manchester City but a switch to Hellas Verona in Italy’s Serie A has allowed him to find his feet as a senior footballer. After impressing on loan during the 2020/21 season, the Gialloblu acquired the midfielder from City for €7.5 million in August.

The 20-year-old has represented Serbia at various youth levels and he already has two caps for the senior squad. Despite his young age, he has gained some decent experience under his belt and he has already made history. Ilić was a product of the Red Star Belgrade youth academy, and on April 1, 2017, he became the youngster player to have made his competitive debut for the Serbian giants at 16 years and 15 days when he came off the bench in their 2-1 victory against Spartak Subotica in the Serbian Super Liga.

Manchester City decided to take a chance on the central midfielder and purchased him for €2.5 million, but it decided to let the Serbian starlet stay on loan at Red Star. His older brother Luka, a winger, was also purchased by the Citizens for the same price. He only made one competitive appearance throughout the 2017/18 campaign, playing for the full 90 minutes in the Crveno-beli’s 5-0 victory against Dinamo Vranje in the First Round of the Kup Srbije.