2019 Asian Cup: Socceroos star Milos Degenek could be on move to Saudi Arabian giant Al Hilal in January
He’s turned heads with Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League, and Australia defender Milos Degenek could be about to cash in with a loaded Saudi Arabian giant.
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He’s turned heads with Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League, and Milos Degenek could be about to cash in with a loaded Saudi Arabian giant.
The Socceroos defender is reportedly in the sights of Al Hilal who, according to Serbian media, is willing to trigger his €3 million buyout clause and them some during the January transfer window.
A video was also posted on Twitter on January 1, when the Socceroos teammates had a day off their Asian Cup camp. It showed Degenek in a shop with Saudi Arabia full-back and Al Hilal player Yasser Al-Shahrani. In the video, Degenek is asked by another unseen man if he plans to join the club.
“Maybe, we will see,” he said.
“Nothing is finished but we will see.”
Any such move, while hugely lucrative, would be strange for a player who only recently stated he was living out his dream playing for Red Star, his beloved boyhood club.
Degenek’s Serbian parents, who sought refuge in Belgrade from his birthplace Croatia when he was a baby, have since moved back to Serbia and attend all his home games.
Furthermore, the 24-year-old only signed for Red Star from Ange Postecoglou’s Yokohama F. Marinos six months ago and has been in blistering league form and scaling the heights of the Champions League against group-stage opponents Liverpool, Paris Saint-Germain and Napoli.
The speculation comes days after Degenek scored his maiden international goal in last weekend’s pre-Asian Cup 5-0 friendly rout of Oman during another assured performance in central defence that further pressed his case for a starting spot in this Sunday’s tournament opener against Jordan.