Milan Smit
Dutch footballer (born 2003)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Milan Smit (born 13 February 2003) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a forward for EFL Championship club Stoke City, on loan from Eredivisie club Go Ahead Eagles.[1]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 13 February 2003 | ||
| Place of birth | Hollandscheveld, Netherlands | ||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Stoke City (on loan from Go Ahead Eagles) | ||
| Number | 49 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2010 | SV HODO | ||
| 2010–2011 | Emmen | ||
| 2011–2017 | Heerenveen | ||
| 2017–2020 | Twente | ||
| 2020–2021 | Cambuur | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2022–2024 | Cambuur | 56 | (22) |
| 2024– | Go Ahead Eagles | 41 | (9) |
| 2026– | → Stoke City (loan) | 9 | (2) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 20:10, 14 March 2026 (UTC) | |||
Career
Early career
Smit was born in Hollandscheveld, Drenthe, and played youth football with local club SV HODO.[2] At the age of seven he moved to Emmen for six months before joining Heerenveen. After six seasons in Friesland, he moved to the Twente youth academy, where he also played for three more years before joining SC Cambuur in 2020.[2]
Cambuur
Smit made his professional debut in the Eredivisie for Cambuur on 3 April 2022 in a 2–1 defeat against NEC Nijmegen.[3] Smit scored his first professional goal when he scored a 95th-minute equaliser against RKC Waalwijk on 6 May 2022, becoming Cambuur's youngest Eredivisie goalscorer.[4][5] Smit voiced to the media that such a goal was a prime motivator for him over the summer of 2022 to prove that he was more than a "one-goal wonder".[6] He played a further 15 times in 2022–23 as Cambuur suffered relegation to the Eerste Divisie.[7] He signed a new contract with Cambuur in August 2023.[8] Smit would go on to be the top scorer for the club during the 2023–24 season, with nineteen league goals, 24 in all competitions. In August 2024, a fee was reportedly agreed of around €900,000, excluding add-ons, for his transfer to Eredivisie club Go Ahead Eagles.[9]
Go Ahead Eagles
On 26 August 2024, Smit signed a four-season contract with Go Ahead Eagles. Upon his signing the club’s technical manager Paul Bosvelt noted that he was already in his fourth season in professional football, despite being only the age of 21 years-old, describing him as "a talented attacker with scoring ability who can hopefully develop further with us.”[10] He made his debut for the club on 15 September 2024 in the Eredivisie in a 2–1 away win against Sparta Rotterdam.[11] He scored his first goal for the club on 18 January 2025, scoring a 95th minute winning goal in a 2–1 home victory against FC Groningen.[12] He scored in the penalty shootout in the final of the 2025 KNVB Cup final as Go Ahead Eagles won the trophy for the first time in their history, winning on penalties against AZ Alkmaar on 21 April 2025.[13] Winning the cup earned Go Ahead a place in the UEFA Europa League and Smit scored twice against Panathinaikos in a 2–1 victory on 2 October 2025.[14]
Stoke City
On 25 January 2026, Smit joined EFL Championship club Stoke City on loan until the end of the 2025–26 campaign, with a conditional obligation to buy in the summer.[15][16]
Career statistics
- As of match played 14 March 2026[1]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Cambuur | 2021–22 | Eredivisie | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 4 | 1 | |||
| 2022–23 | Eredivisie | 13 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | 15 | 2 | ||||
| 2023–24 | Eerste Divisie | 36 | 19 | 5 | 5 | — | — | — | 41 | 24 | ||||
| 2024–25 | Eerste Divisie | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 3 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 56 | 22 | 7 | 6 | — | — | — | 63 | 28 | |||||
| Go Ahead Eagles | 2024–25 | Eredivisie | 22 | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 26 | 3 | |||
| 2025–26 | Eredivisie | 19 | 6 | 2 | 1 | — | 6[c] | 3 | 1[d] | 0 | 28 | 10 | ||
| Total | 41 | 9 | 6 | 1 | — | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 55 | 13 | |||
| Stoke City (loan) | 2025–26 | Championship | 9 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 2 | ||
| Career total | 106 | 33 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 127 | 43 | ||
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Appearance in Johan Cruyff Shield