Time for a Western Sydney Wanderers’ star to move on, crunch time for Melbourne Victory
Nicolas Milanovic must not stay wedded to another year at the Western Sydney Wanderers if he wants to become an elite footballer, argue Robbie Slater and Marco Monteverde.
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A-League sensation Nicolas Milanovic must strike while the iron’s hot by heading to Europe at the end of the season rather than staying with the Western Sydney Wanderers for another year in the belief that it will give him a better chance of playing for the Socceroos at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
All signs are pointing towards in-form attacker Milanovic being sold by the Wanderers to join a European club for the 2025-26.
It’s not only good business for Western Sydney, who have Milanovic under contract for another season, but also the player himself, who will not only earn better dollars, but also have the chance to test himself at a higher level.
At 23, Milanovic is of the ideal age to head overseas.
Too often, we see teenagers or players around the age of 20 or 21, leaving the A-League for Europe before they’re ready and within a couple of years, they are back playing in our domestic competition.
In the case of Milanovic, he’s that little bit older, and has the experience of almost 100 A-League appearances under his belt.
Another week, another cracking goal from @wswanderersfc star Nicolas Milanovic 😮â€ðŸ’¨ðŸ‘
— Isuzu UTE A-League (@aleaguemen) April 23, 2025
The 23-year-old's textbook finish wins the @IsuzuUTE Goal of the Week, as voted by you 🫵#ALM#GOTWpic.twitter.com/bEhdJMDbcY
He has served his necessary apprenticeship, and the time has come for him to take his game to another level in Europe.
There are those of the belief that by doing that, Milanovic could risk his chances of being selected in Australia’s squad for next year’s World Cup – should the Socceroos qualify – if he fails to play regular first-team football overseas.
However, he can’t think like that, and he won’t.
Milanovic will back himself to succeed, and Socceroos coach Tony Popovic will like that.
It’s the same with 23-year-old Western United striker Noah Botic, who is also likely to head to Europe at the end of the season.
Some people have said he too should stay in the A-League for another season to improve his chances of playing at next year’s World Cup.
However, he too has served his time in the A-League and needs to make the move overseas to elevate his game to the next level.
The only difference in Botic’s situation compared to that of Milanovic’s is that Botic’s contract with Western United expires at the end of the season.
It means that if Botic does leave, as expected, at the conclusion of the 2024-25 campaign, United won’t get a transfer fee for him, which makes you wonder why the club didn’t sell him during the January-February transfer window.
Victory must lift
It’s crunch time for Melbourne Victory on Friday night.
A disappointing performance against Auckland FC last weekend has left them sitting perhaps a little uncomfortably in fifth spot on the ladder.
If the Victory lose to a desperate Macarthur FC at Campbelltown Sports Stadium, there’s a chance, depending on other results, that they could be out of the top six by the end of the weekend.
That’s not where the traditional A-League heavyweights want to be, nor should be, heading into the final round of the regular season.
A squad containing the likes of Zinedine Machach, Ryan Teague, Daniel Arzani, Nishan Velupillay and Mitch Langerak should already be well and truly cemented in the top half of the top six.
Perhaps in the Victory’s favour on Friday night will be that the Bulls must win to have any realistic chance of playing finals football this season, so will therefore attack from the outset and potentially leave themselves defensively vulnerable.
You can bet that APL bosses will want the Victory – one of the competition’s best supported clubs – in the top six to help boost crowd numbers, and financial gains, in next month’s final series.
Sorry Reds
It’s been sad to see the demise of Adelaide United in recent weeks.
Flying high less than three months ago, the Reds have fallen by the wayside in an astonishing collapse.
Not helping their cause was the club’s decision earlier this month to announce that coach Carl Veart wouldn’t be in charge next season.
At that stage, despite their ordinary form, the Reds were still in contention to make the top six.
However, now they are in supreme danger of being dealt a knockout blow by the in-form Melbourne City on Saturday night at AAMI Park.
If their poor performance against competition lightweights Brisbane Roar earlier this week is any indication of where the Reds are in terms of confidence, belief and form, they can forget about any thoughts of beating City.
With everything to play for, the Reds struggled to even manage a 1-1 draw against the battling Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium.
Veart didn’t help himself with his selections. Why did he persist with young goalkeeper Max Vartuli? The 20-year-old custodian cost his team another goal in what has become a regular habit.
The Reds should attempt to sign former Socceroos goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne, who is looking for a new club after announcing he would be leaving Sydney FC at the end of the season.
Veart also made the wrong decision to leave Adelaide’s leading striker Archie Goodwin, who has scored more A-League goals than anyone this season apart from Sydney’s Adrian Segecic, out of his starting team.
In a game Adelaide needed to win, Goodwin should have started, as well as key playmaker Zach Clough, who also didn’t enter the fray until the second-half.
A-League Round 28
FRIDAY
Macarthur FC v Melbourne Victory
Campbelltown Sports Stadium, 7.35pm (AEST)
Referee: Daniel Elder
SATURDAY
Brisbane Roar v Wellington Phoenix
Suncorp Stadium, 3pm (AEST)
Referee: Ben Abraham
Newcastle Jets v Western Sydney Wanderers
McDonald Jones Stadium, 5pm (AEST)
Referee: Tim Danaskos
Melbourne City v Adelaide United
AAMI Park, 7.35pm (AEST)
Referee: Shaun Evans
SUNDAY
Auckland FC v Perth Glory
Go Media Stadium, 5pm (local), 3pm (AEST)
Referee: Adam Kersey
Western United v Sydney FC
Ironbark Fields, 5pm (AEST)
Referee: Alex King
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