Dejan Joveljić
Serbian footballer (born 1999)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dejan Joveljić (Serbian Cyrillic: Дејан Јовељић; born 7 August 1999)[1] is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Major League Soccer club Seattle Sounders FC and the Serbia national team.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Dejan Joveljić[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 7 August 1999 | ||
| Place of birth | Bijeljina, Bosnia and Herzegovina | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Seattle Sounders FC | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2010 | Sloga United | ||
| 2010–2018 | Red Star Belgrade | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2019 | Red Star Belgrade | 21 | (11) |
| 2019–2021 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 4 | (0) |
| 2020 | → Anderlecht (loan) | 5 | (1) |
| 2020–2021 | → Wolfsberger AC (loan) | 34 | (18) |
| 2021–2024 | LA Galaxy | 106 | (34) |
| 2025–2026 | Sporting Kansas City | 55 | (26) |
| 2026– | Seattle Sounders FC | 1 | (2) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2014–2015 | Serbia U16 | 14 | (6) |
| 2015–2016 | Serbia U17 | 17 | (11) |
| 2015–2017 | Serbia U18 | 6 | (6) |
| 2017–2018 | Serbia U19 | 11 | (4) |
| 2017–2019 | Serbia U21 | 12 | (3) |
| 2021– | Serbia | 9 | (2) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 01:08, 30 August 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 20:05, 31 March 2026 (UTC) | |||
Club career
Red Star Belgrade
2016–17 season
Born in Bijeljina, Bosnia and Herzegovina,[1] Joveljić played with the local club Sloga Junajted, before he joined Serbian top-tier club Red Star Belgrade in his early years.[2] After almost seven years with the club, playing in the youth categories,[3] Joveljić signed his first professional contract on 16 March 2016, along with several teammates.[4] Joveljić joined the first team under coach Miodrag Božović in 2016, but did not play official matches during the 2016–17 Serbian SuperLiga campaign due to mononucleosis he was diagnosed with in August 2016.[5] In the meantime, he was listed in top 60 youth footballers by The Guardian.[6] After he missed the rest of 2016 without training, Joveljić returned to the field in early 2017, playing with the youth team until the end of the season.[7] He was also nominated as one of the competitors for the Golden Boy award in 2017.[8]
2017–18 season
In summer 2017, Joveljić presented as one of the club's top 10 youth prospects and spent the whole pre-season training with the first squad.[9] He became a regular member of the first team from the beginning of September 2017, after an outstanding stint in the Serbian youth league. He was named as the third choice striker behind Richmond Boakye and Aleksandar Pešić.[10] Later, on 19 September of the same year, Joveljić extended his contract with the club until 2021.[11] 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.[12] Joveljić was named man of the match 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.[13] He made his official debut for Red Star Belgrade on 10 December 2017, replacing Pešić in the 70th minute of the Serbian SuperLiga match against Borac Čačak.[14] 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.[15] Finally, Joveljić scored in the last match of the season against Voždovac on 19 May 2018, for the first trophy in his professional career.[16]
2018–19 season
In summer 2018, after overgrown youth selection, which previously qualified to the 2018–19 UEFA Youth League,[17] Joveljić started the new season as a full senior.[18] Following the complete pre-season period he spent with the first team, Joveljić was licensed for the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League qualifications.[19] Following both of matches against Spartaks Jūrmala in the first round he missed, Joveljić started an opening match of the 2018–19 Serbian SuperLiga, scoring in 3–0 victory over Dinamo Vranje on 20 July 2018.[20]
Eintracht Frankfurt
On 14 June 2019, Joveljić signed a deal with German side Eintracht Frankfurt for a fee of €4 million.[21]
Loan to Anderlecht
Joveljić joined Belgian club Anderlecht on loan until the end of the season on 31 January 2020.[22]
Loan to Wolfsberger AC
Joveljić spent the 2020–21 season on loan at Austrian Bundesliga side Wolfsberger AC. 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 side LA Galaxy[23] as a U22 Initiative player. On 15 August 2024, Joveljić scored a brace in El Tráfico, securing LA Galaxy's 4–2 victory.[24]
Sporting Kansas City
On 1 February 2025, Joveljić signed a three year designated player contract with Sporting Kansas City for a transfer fee of $4 million. This marked the first cash-for-player trade in MLS history.[25] Joveljić scored 26 goals and had 3 assists in 55 appearances for SKC.[26]
Seattle Sounders FC
On 25 August 2026, Joveljić was traded from Kansas City to Seattle Sounders FC for $6 million while retaining his Designated Player contract. The four-year contract includes a club option that extends through the end of the 2030–31 season.[27] He made his Sounders on 29 August against Chicago Fire FC, scoring both goals in a 2–2 draw. He became the second Sounders player to score twice in their debut, joining Fredy Montero who scored twice in his Sounders debut in 2009.[28]
International career
As an ethnic Serb born and raised in the Republika Srpska entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina, Joveljić has represented Serbia since his youth. After games with the Serbian under-16 & under-17 national teams, Joveljić made his debut for the under-18 level on 15 December 2015 in a match against Ukraine.[29]
He missed the whole 2016 season due to illness and returned to the team scoring a goal in a match against Uzbekistan on 20 April 2017.[30] Playing for the team, Joveljić notched six goals in six matches, including games against Czech Republic and France in which he scored twice each.[31][32] In August 2017, Joveljić was called into the Serbia U19 squad, when he made a debut at the memorial tournament "Stevan Vilotić – Ćele".[33] Scoring twice in 3–1 victory over Israel, Joveljić contributed to winning a trophy, after which he was elected for the most promising player on the tournament.[34]
Joveljić got his first call-up for the Serbian under-21 team by coach Goran Đorović in December 2017.[35] He made his debut for the team in an away friendly against Qatar on 17 December 2017.[36] While at the under-19 level, Joveljić also scored against Bulgaria and Sweden in March 2018, missing to qualify for the 2018 UEFA European Under-19 Championship with Serbia.[37][38]
He made his debut for the senior national team on 7 June 2021 in a friendly against Jamaica.[39]
Style of play
Joveljić, is a 6'-tall, 165-pound striker. He usually plays as a centre forward, but can also play as a winger.[2] He has stood out since his youth career and was marked as one of the best prospective players in the Red Star Belgrade Academy, later joining the first team. In his final season with the youth team, Joveljić confirmed his status as a poacher and top goalscorer with several hat-tricks.[40] He has been compared to Argentine footballer Mauro Icardi[6] and a compatriot Luka Jović.[2] Joveljić is skilled with both feet and is also good at headers and penalty shots.[41]
Personal life
Joveljić attended a private school in Novi Sad, Serbia. Besides football, he likes to play billiards and chess, having achieved a FIDE rating of over 2200 in the latter. [42] He is also a Rubik's Cube enthusiast.[43] His personal best is 39 seconds.[41] In 2023 he competed at the European Championships in Blitz Chess in Zagreb, Croatia. With six points from 13 games, he made it to position 330 among 556 participants.[44]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 22 August 2026[45]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Red Star Belgrade | 2016–17 | Serbian SuperLiga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2017–18 | Serbian SuperLiga | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 3 | ||
| 2018–19 | Serbian SuperLiga | 17 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 2[b] | 0 | — | 24 | 11 | ||
| Total | 21 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 14 | ||
| Eintracht Frankfurt | 2019–20 | Bundesliga | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5[c] | 1 | — | 10 | 1 | |
| Anderlecht (loan) | 2019–20 | Belgian First Division A | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | |
| Wolfsberger AC (loan) | 2020–21 | Austrian Bundesliga | 34 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 2 | — | 46 | 20 | |
| LA Galaxy | 2021 | MLS | 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 3 | ||
| 2022 | MLS | 34 | 12 | 4 | 3 | — | 1[d] | 1 | 37 | 15 | ||
| 2023 | MLS | 32 | 6 | 3 | 0 | — | 2[d] | 0 | 37 | 6 | ||
| 2024 | MLS | 31 | 19 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 19 | |||
| Total | 113 | 40 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 127 | 43 | ||
| Sporting Kansas City | 2025 | MLS | 34 | 18 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 36 | 18 | ||
| 2026 | MLS | 21 | 8 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 24 | 8 | |||
| Total | 55 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 60 | 26 | ||
| Seattle Sounders FC | 2026 | MLS | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 188 | 94 | 18 | 6 | 24 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 270 | 104 | ||
- Includes Serbian Cup, DFB-Pokal, Austrian Cup, U.S. Open Cup
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Appearances in Leagues Cup
International
- As of match played 31 March 2026[46]
Scores and results list Serbia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Joveljić goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 June 2023 | Franz Horr Stadium, Vienna, Austria |  Jordan | 2–2 | 3–2 | Friendly |
| 2 | 3–2 |
Honours
Red Star Belgrade
LA Galaxy
