The reason behind new Napoli signing Milinkovic-Savic’s Serbia absence

Originally posted on Football Italia | By Sam Wilson | Last updated Sep 4, 2025 9:22 AM ET

Serbian national team head coach Dragan Stojkovic has confirmed that new Napoli signing Vanja Milinkovic-Savic asked not to be included in his latest squad, to give him time to adjust to his big summer move to Naples.

Speaking at his press conference ahead of Saturday’s trip to Latvia in the World Cup qualifiers, with quotes via TuttoMercatoWeb, Stojkovic said “Nothing special has happened, there are no changes. We shouldn’t put him and his brother on the same level; they are two completely different situations.”

“I’ve spoken to Vanja twice,” the coach said, “he asked me to skip this call-up because he has just changed environment and club, he needs time to adjust. I completely understand that.”

Milinkovic-Savic completes summer Napoli switch

Milinkovic-Savic, 28, joined Napoli on loan this summer with an obligation to buy, for an initial loan fee of €15 million plus €6.5 million to paid through the obligation.

The experienced goalkeeper, whose brother Sergej used to play for Lazio, joins Antonio Conte’s side to put pressure on and create competition with Alex Meret.

The former Manchester United youth prospect joined Torino from Polish side Lechia Gdansk in 2017 and has played over 158 times for Urbano Cairo’s side in all competitions.

This article first appeared on Football Italia and was syndicated with permission.

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