Saša Lukić

Saša Lukić (Serbian Cyrillic: Саша Лукић, pronounced [sǎʃa lǔːkitɕ, sâ-]; born 13 August 1996) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Premier League club Fulham and the Serbia national team.

Saša Lukić
Саша Лукић

Lukić playing for Serbia in 2022
Personal information
Full name	Saša Lukić[1]
Date of birth	(1996-08-13) 13 August 1996 (age 28)
Place of birth	Šabac, Serbia, FR Yugoslavia
Height	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team	Fulham
Number	20
Youth career
	POFK Savacium
2009–2013	Partizan
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2013–2016	Partizan	27	(2)
2013–2015	→ Teleoptik (loan)	39	(9)
2016–2023	Torino	151	(13)
2017–2018	→ Levante (loan)	16	(0)
2023–	Fulham	43	(1)
International career‡
2015–2019	Serbia U21	21	(3)
2018–	Serbia	52	(2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:24, 5 October 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12 October 2024

Early life

Lukić was born in Varna, a village near Šabac, Serbia, FR Yugoslavia on 13 August 1996.

Club career

Partizan

Lukić started playing football at POFK Savacium, a football school in Šabac, before joining Partizan as a trainee in August 2009.^[2] He signed his first professional contract for the club in August 2013 on his 17th birthday, signing a three-year deal.

Loan to Teleoptik

In order to gain senior experience, Lukić was immediately loaned to Teleoptik.^[3] He played regularly for the Opticians in the 2013–14 season, making 23 league appearances and scoring three goals, as the club failed to avoid relegation.

Return to Partizan

On 16 May 2015, Lukić made his competitive debut for Partizan and played the full match in a 1–1 home league draw with Novi Pazar.^[4] On 17 July 2015, he entered in the game against Metalac, replacing Stefan Babović in first game of 2015–16 Serbian SuperLiga.^[5] On 8 August, he scored his first official goal for Partizan in the final minutes of a 2–1 home win over Spartak Subotica.^[6] Two weeks later, he scored his second goal for Partizan in 3–1 away league win over Borac Čačak.^[7] On 26 August 2015, Lukić made his debut in the UEFA Champions League in the second leg of the play-off round against BATE Borisov.^[8] On 22 October, he played his first match in UEFA Europa League group stage against Athletic Bilbao.^[9] In the absence of some players he captained the team for several games.^[10][11]

Torino

On 29 July 2016, Lukić was signed by Italian club Torino.^[12] On 17 October, he made his debut in Serie A in a 4–1 win away to Palermo, replacing Mirko Valdifiori. Lukić scored his first goal for Torino on May 3, 2019 in the Derby della Mole. Lukić followed the movement of the ball very well and in the duel he simply took the ball away from Miralem Pjanić and placed it in the net in a rather routine manner.^[13] He scored his second goal on 26 May in the last game of the season in a 3–1 win over S.S. Lazio.^[14] At the end of the 2018–19 Serie A, Torino finished in seventh position and thus secured participation in the Europa League qualifiers.

Levante (loan)

On 15 August 2017, Lukić was loaned to La Liga side Levante, for one year.^[15]

Fulham

On 31 January 2023, Lukić joined Premier League side Fulham for an undisclosed fee, signing a four-and-a-half-year deal with the English club.^[16] Lukić made his debut at Craven Cottage on 11 February, coming on in the 91st minute as a substitute for Andreas Pereira in a 2–0 win over Nottingham Forest.^[17] Lukić was included in the starting line-up and played the whole game in the 0–3 loss against Arsenal.^[18] Following a good run of games in the starting line-up, Lukić scored his first ever goal for Fulham in a 3–0 win against Tottenham.^[19]

International career

Lukić debuted for the Serbian senior squad on 7 September 2018 in a 1–0 victory against Lithuania.^[20]

Lukić was selected in Serbia's squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.^[21] He played in all three group stage matches, against Brazil,^[22] Cameroon,^[23] and Switzerland.^[24] Serbia finished fourth in the group.^[25]

Lukić was selected in Serbia's squad for the UEFA Euro 2024. He played in all three group stage matches, against England, Slovenia and Denmark. Serbia finished fourth in the group.

Style of play

Lukić is a quick, hardworking, versatile player with good vision, passing, and technique and well-rounded midfielder, who is also capable of playing in several positions, due to his ability to aid his team both offensively and defensively. A right-footed player, he is usually deployed as a creative attacking midfielder, due to his vision, passing, technique, and striking ability, as well as his adeptness at making attacking runs.^[26]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 5 October 2024^[27]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup[a]		League cup[b]		Continental		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Teleoptik	2013–14	Serbian First League	23	3	0	0	–		–		23	3
	2014–15	Serbian League Belgrade	16	6	0	0	–		–		16	6
	Total		39	9	0	0	–		–		39	9
Partizan	2014–15	Serbian SuperLiga	2	0	0	0	–		0	0	2	0
	2015–16		25	2	3	0	–		3[c]	0	31	2
	Total		27	2	3	0	–		3	0	33	2
Torino	2016–17	Serie A	14	0	1	0	–		–		15	0
	2017–18		0	0	1	0	–		–		1	0
	2018–19		24	2	1	0	–		–		25	2
	2019–20		30	1	2	0	–		4[d]	0	36	1
	2020–21		32	3	0	0	–		–		32	3
	2021–22		35	5	1	0	–		–		36	5
	2022–23		16	2	1	1	–		–		17	3
	Total		151	13	7	1	–		4	0	162	14
Levante (loan)	2017–18	La Liga	16	0	2	0	–		–		18	0
Fulham	2022–23	Premier League	12	0	2	0	0	0	–		14	0
	2023–24		24	1	2	0	2	0	–		28	1
	2024–25		7	0	0	0	2	0	–		9	0
	Total		43	1	4	0	4	0	–		51	1
Career total			277	25	14	1	4	0	7	0	302	26

1. Includes Serbian Cup, Coppa Italia, Copa del Rey, FA Cup
2. Includes EFL Cup
3. One appearance in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
4. Appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

As of match played 12 October 2024^[28]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Serbia	2018	6	0
	2019	6	0
	2020	5	0
	2021	7	1
	2022	11	1
	2023	7	0
	2024	10	0
Total		52	2

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

List of international goals scored by Saša Lukić

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	11 November 2021	Rajko Mitić Stadium, Belgrade, Serbia	Qatar	1–0	4–0	Friendly
2	24 September 2022		Sweden	4–1	4–1	2022–23 UEFA Nations League B

Honours

Partizan

• Serbian SuperLiga: 2014–15
• Serbian Cup: 2015–16

References

1. "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 – Squad list: Serbia (SRB)" (PDF). FIFA. 15 November 2022. p. 26. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 December 2022. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
2. "Nadolaze 'mladi lavovi'" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 16 June 2013. Archived from the original on 19 June 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
3. "Lukić Saša postao profesionalac u Partizanu" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 13 August 2013. Archived from the original on 8 July 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
4. "Kraj odsviran sa tribina, remi Partizana nije pokvario šampionsku proslavu" (in Serbian). blic.rs. 16 May 2015. Archived from the original on 12 April 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
5. "Partizan – Metalac 4:0 (3:0)" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 17 July 2015. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
6. "Ima pravde – ima Lukića!" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 8 August 2015. Archived from the original on 26 September 2018. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
7. "KRAJ: Borac - Partizan 1:3! (VIDEO)" (in Serbian). mozzartsport.com. 22 August 2015. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
8. "BATE advance after holding off Partizan rally". uefa.com. 26 August 2015. Archived from the original on 27 November 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
9. "Athletic conquer Partizan's Belgrade fortress". uefa.com. 22 October 2015. Archived from the original on 11 January 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
10. "Treći test meč: Partizan – Shíjiāzhuāng Yǒngchāng 2:0 (1:0)" (in Serbian). FK Partizan.rs. 3 February 2016. Archived from the original on 26 September 2018. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
11. "Četvrti test meč: Partizan – UFA 0:0" (in Serbian). FK Partizan.rs. 3 February 2016. Archived from the original on 26 September 2018. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
12. "Lukic al Toro" (in Italian). Torino F.C. 29 July 2016. Archived from the original on 13 February 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
13. "JUVENTUS VS. TORINO 1 - 1". Soccerway.com. 3 May 2019. Archived from the original on 5 March 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
14. "TORINO VS. LAZIO 3 - 1". Soccerway.com. 26 May 2019. Archived from the original on 17 May 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
15. "El Torino y el Levante pactan la cesión de Sasa Lukic por una temporada" [Torino and Levante agree for the loan of Sasa Lukic for one season] (in Spanish). Levante UD. 15 August 2017. Archived from the original on 20 March 2023. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
16. FC, Fulham (31 January 2023). "Lukić Joins Fulham". Fulham FC. Archived from the original on 31 January 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
17. "FULHAM VS. NOTTINGHAM FOREST 2 - 0". Soccerway.com. 11 February 2023. Archived from the original on 22 June 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
18. "FULHAM VS. ARSENAL 0 - 3". Soccerway.com. 12 March 2023. Archived from the original on 19 August 2023. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
19. "LUKIĆ: HARD WORK PAYS OFF". 18 March 2024. Archived from the original on 18 March 2024. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
20. "Lituania-Serbia 0–1: Per Lukic c'è l'esordio in Nazionale". Toro News (in Italian). 8 September 2018. Archived from the original on 9 September 2018. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
21. "Head-coach Dragan Stojković announces the list of players for the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar". Football Association of Serbia. 11 November 2022. Archived from the original on 23 June 2023. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
22. Conti, Kristen (24 November 2022). "Richarlison Brings Brazil to Life in the Second Half, Defeats Serbia 2–0". NBCNew York. New York. Archived from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
23. "World Cup 2022 | Cameroon 3–3 Serbia: Vincent Aboubakar and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting goals complete stunning comeback". Sky Sports. 28 November 2022. Archived from the original on 30 November 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
24. Ames, Nick (2 December 2022). "Switzerland advance and Serbia go out as Freuler finish settles stormy contest". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
25. Mendola, Nicholas (2 December 2022). "World Cup 2022 Group G: Brazil, Serbia, Cameroon, Switzerland schedule, fixtures, rankings". NBC Sports. Lusail. Archived from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
26. "To je ta klasa 1996! Nije nam teško da po selima tražimo igrače kakav je Saša Lukić (VIDEO)" (in Serbian). mozzartsport.com. 10 August 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
27. "S. Lukić". Soccerway. Archived from the original on 4 February 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
28. "S. Lukić". Soccerway. Archived from the original on 21 August 2018. Retrieved 10 June 2018.

External links

• Profile at the Fulham F.C. website
• Saša Lukić at BDFutbol
• Saša Lukić – UEFA competition record (archive)
• Saša Lukić at Soccerway