Jan Mlakar
Slovenian footballer (born 1998)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jan Mlakar (born 23 October 1998) is a Slovenian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 2 club Amiens, on loan from Serie A club Pisa.[1]
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Mlakar with Slovenia in 2022 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 23 October 1998 | ||
| Place of birth | Ljubljana, Slovenia | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[1] | ||
| Positions | |||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Amiens (on loan from Pisa) | ||
| Number | 9 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2008 | Alfa | ||
| 2008–2015 | Domžale | ||
| 2015–2017 | Fiorentina | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2017–2018 | Fiorentina | 1 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | → Venezia (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | Maribor | 28 | (12) |
| 2019–2021 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | (0) |
| 2019 | → Maribor (loan) | 10 | (4) |
| 2019–2020 | → Queens Park Rangers (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2020 | → Wigan Athletic (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2020–2021 | → Maribor (loan) | 32 | (14) |
| 2021–2023 | Hajduk Split | 64 | (18) |
| 2023– | Pisa | 36 | (3) |
| 2025 | → Hajduk Split (loan) | 6 | (1) |
| 2025– | → Amiens (loan) | 9 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2014–2015 | Slovenia U17[a] | 9 | (8) |
| 2015–2016 | Slovenia U19[a] | 5 | (2) |
| 2016–2019 | Slovenia U21 | 19 | (8) |
| 2019 | Slovenia B | 1 | (0) |
| 2021– | Slovenia | 29 | (4) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 22 December 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 18 November 2025 | |||
Club career
Early career
Born in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Mlakar started playing football at his hometown club Alfa, before moving to Domžale.[2] In early 2015, at the age of 16, Mlakar was transferred to the Italian Serie A side Fiorentina for a reported fee of €1 million.[2] He captained Fiorentina's under-19 side and was also the team's top goalscorer in the 2016–17 season.[3] He made his professional senior debut on 30 April 2017 in a league match against Palermo, replacing his fellow countryman Josip Iličić in the 70th minute.[4] For the 2017–18 season, he was loaned to the Serie B side Venezia, where he made three league appearances.[1]
In January 2018, Mlakar returned to Slovenia and joined Maribor, signing a four-and-a-half-year contract.[5]
Brighton & Hove Albion
In January 2019, Mlakar signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with Brighton & Hove Albion. He was immediately loaned back to Maribor until the end of the season.[6] With the team, he won his first senior trophy as Maribor were crowned champions during the 2018–19 season.[7] Overall, Mlakar scored 17 goals for Maribor in 44 appearances over a span of two seasons.[7]
Queens Park Rangers (loan)
Upon return, he was loaned out again on 24 July 2019 to the Championship side Queens Park Rangers in a one-year deal.[8] Mlakar made his debut for The R's on 13 August 2019 in the first round of the EFL Cup against Bristol City, where he came on as a substitute. The game finished 3–3 with QPR winning 5–4 on penalties.[9] His first start also came in the EFL Cup where he played the full match in the 2–0 home defeat against Portsmouth.[10] He made his league debut coming on as a substitute in a 2–1 away win over Sheffield Wednesday on 31 August 2019.[11]
Wigan Athletic (loan)
After being recalled by Brighton from QPR in January 2020, he joined another Championship side, Wigan Athletic, on loan until the end of the season.[12][13] On 4 July 2020, Mlakar made his debut for the Latics, coming on as a substitute away at Brentford in a 3–0 defeat.[14]
Maribor (loan)
On 14 August 2020, Brighton have sent Mlakar on another loan to the Slovenian PrvaLiga side Maribor until the end of the 2020–21 season.[15] He scored his first goal on his return to Slovenia in his second appearance on 12 September in a 4–1 home victory over Bravo after coming on as a substitute.[16]
Hajduk Split
On 1 July 2021, Mlakar signed a four-year contract with Croatian club Hajduk Split.[17] On 17 July, he made his debut in a Croatian First League match against Lokomotiva Zagreb. During the match, he scored both Hajduk's goals in an eventual 2–2 draw.[18]
Pisa
On 27 August 2023, Mlakar returned to Italy with Serie B club Pisa.[19]
Hajduk Split (loan)
On 28 January 2025, Mlakar returned to Hajduk Split on loan.[20]
Amiens (loan)
In August 2025, Pisa loaned Mlakar again, this time to Amiens in French Ligue 2 until the end of the 2025–26 season.[21]
International career
Mlakar was capped for Slovenia at all youth levels from under-15 to under-21.[22] He was the top goalscorer of the qualifications for the 2015 UEFA European Under-17 Championship, with eight goals.[2] In June 2019, Mlakar was included in the senior squad for the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying match against Latvia,[23] but was an unused substitution.[24]
As the captain of the under-21 team, he led the player's rebellion against the manager Primož Gliha in October 2020 due to his alleged inappropriate behavior towards players.[25][26] As a result, Gliha was sacked by the Football Association of Slovenia, and Mlakar was not included in the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship squad by the new manager Milenko Ačimovič.[27][28]
Mlakar was part of the senior squad for friendly matches away to North Macedonia and at home against Gibraltar in June 2021.[29] He debuted against the former on 1 June, starting the match and playing for 79 minutes in an eventual 1–1 draw.[30] Mlakar also started the game at home against Gibraltar on 4 June, where he scored his first senior international goal, putting his nation 4–0 ahead in an eventual 6–0 victory.[31]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 28 May 2023[1]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Fiorentina | 2016–17 | Serie A | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| Venezia (loan) | 2017–18 | Serie B | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | |||
| Maribor | 2017–18 | Slovenian PrvaLiga | 12 | 3 | — | — | — | — | 12 | 3 | ||||
| 2018–19 | Slovenian PrvaLiga | 26 | 13 | 3 | 1 | — | 3[b] | 0 | — | 32 | 14 | |||
| Total | 38 | 16 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 17 | ||
| Brighton & Hove Albion | 2019–20 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Queens Park Rangers (loan) | 2019–20 | Championship | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 8 | 0 | ||
| Wigan Athletic (loan) | 2019–20 | Championship | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| Maribor (loan) | 2020–21 | Slovenian PrvaLiga | 32 | 14 | 2 | 1 | — | 1[b] | 0 | — | 35 | 15 | ||
| Hajduk Split | 2021–22 | Croatian First League | 27 | 7 | 4 | 0 | — | 2[c] | 0 | — | 33 | 7 | ||
| 2022–23 | Croatian League | 33 | 11 | 5 | 3 | — | 2[c] | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 41 | 14 | ||
| Total | 60 | 18 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 74 | 21 | ||
| Career total | 141 | 48 | 15 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 167 | 53 | ||
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
- Appearance in Croatian Super Cup
International
- As of match played 18 November 2025[1]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slovenia | 2021 | 5 | 1 |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 8 | 1 | |
| 2024 | 12 | 2 | |
| 2025 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 29 | 4 | |
- Scores and results list Slovenia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Mlakar goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 June 2021 | Bonifika Stadium, Koper, Slovenia | 2 |  Gibraltar | 4–0 | 6–0 | Friendly |
| 2 | 10 September 2023 | San Marino Stadium, Serravalle, San Marino | 10 |  San Marino | 2–0 | 4–0 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying |
| 3 | 4 June 2024 | Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia | 16 |  Armenia | 1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 4 | 13 October 2024 | Almaty Central Stadium, Almaty, Kazakhstan | 24 |  Kazakhstan | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2024–25 UEFA Nations League B |
Honours
Maribor
- Slovenian PrvaLiga: 2018–19[1]
- Slovenian Cup runner-up: 2018–19[1]
Hajduk Split
- Croatian Cup: 2021–22, 2022–23[1]
- Croatian Super Cup runner-up: 2022, 2023[1]
Individual
