Strahinja Pavlovic insight: Scouting report, stats, transfer rating and more

Originally posted on SempreMilan | By Oliver Fisher | Last updated Aug 2, 2024 2:30 PM ET

AC Milan officially completed their second signing of the summer earlier this week as Strahinja Pavlovic joined the club on an initial four-year deal.

The deal had been reported on for weeks, and the centre-back finally arrived in Italy on Monday night, undergoing his medical on Tuesday – one that was more attentive than usual due to previous heart issues – and signed his contract on Wednesday.

All major sources are reporting that the transfer fee is €18m plus €2m in bonuses and his salary is €1.5m net per season until 2028, with the club holding an option to extend the deal by a year. He has taken the number 31, the same worn by Jaap Stam.

Pavlovic is a player that Milan have faced before in the Champions League when in the same group as Red Bull Salzburg the season before last, but what exactly can fans expect from him?

Background

Born in Šabac, Pavlović started out at local side Savacium and then headed to the powerhouses Partizan Belgrade in the summer of 2015, signing his first professional contract with the club three years later.

After coming through their youth ranks, he made his first-team debut aged 17 in a 3-0 victory over Proleter Novi Sad on 23 February 2019. That season saw him make 11 league appearances and start the Serbian Cup final, from which Partizan emerged victorious against historic rivals Red Star Belgrade.

He was already beginning to turn heads and that summer he was all set to join Lazio, but the deal fell through because they found some cardiac irregularities and decided not to go through with the signing.

Pavlovic eventually signed for Monaco in the winter mercato that followed, but remained at Partizan on loan until the summer. In his first six months with the French side he barely played, and loan spells at Cercle Bruges and Basel were then followed by a permanent switch to Red Bull Salzburg in summer 2022.

It would prove to be the perfect stepping stone for him. Pavlovic made his debut for the Austrian club on 15 July in the first round of the 2022–23 Austrian Cup, playing all 90 minutes in a 0–3 win against Fuegen.

He kicked on from there, winning the league title in his first season at the club and also playing Champions League football, where he came up against Milan twice. An interesting note: he has 16 goals to his name in his career, not bad for a young centre-back.

Pavlovic has already won 38 caps for Serbia too, for whom he played as a starter in the recent European Championship in Germany. He was also a key figure for his country at the Qatar World Cup in 2022.

This article first appeared on SempreMilan and was syndicated with permission.

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