Saša Lukić (, ; born 13 August 1996) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for club Ipswich Town and the Serbia national team.
Early life Lukić was born in Varna, a village near Šabac, Serbia, FR Yugoslavia on 13 August 1996.
Club career Partizan Lukić started playing football at POFK Savacium, a football school in Šabac, before joining Partizan as a trainee in August 2009. He signed his first professional contract for the club in August 2013 on his 17th birthday, signing a three-year deal.
Loan to Teleoptik To gain senior experience, Lukić was immediately loaned to Teleoptik. He played regularly for the Opticians in the 2013–14 season, making 23 league appearances and scoring three goals, as the club failed to avoid relegation.
Return to Partizan On 16 May 2015, Lukić made his competitive debut for Partizan and played the full match in a 1–1 home league draw with Novi Pazar. On 17 July 2015, he entered in the game against Metalac, replacing Stefan Babović in first game of 2015–16 Serbian SuperLiga. On 8 August, he scored his first official goal for Partizan in the final minutes of a 2–1 home win over Spartak Subotica. Two weeks later, he scored his second goal for Partizan in 3–1 away league win over Borac Čačak. On 26 August 2015, Lukić made his debut in the UEFA Champions League in the second leg of the play-off round against BATE Borisov. On 22 October, he played his first match in UEFA Europa League group stage against Athletic Bilbao. In the absence of some players he captained the team for several games.
Torino On 29 July 2016, Lukić was signed by Italian club Torino. On 17 October, he made his debut in Serie A in a 4–1 win away to Palermo, replacing Mirko Valdifiori. Lukić scored his first goal for Torino on 3 May 2019 in the Derby della Mole. Lukić followed the movement of the ball very well and in the duel he simply took the ball away from Miralem Pjanić and placed it in the net in a rather routine manner. He scored his second goal on 26 May in the final game of the season in a 3–1 win over Lazio. At the end of the 2018–19 Serie A, Torino finished in seventh place and thus secured qualification for the UEFA Europa League qualifiers.
Levante (loan) On 15 August 2017, Lukić was loaned to La Liga club Levante, for the 2017–18 season.
Fulham
On 31 January 2023, Lukić joined Premier League side Fulham for an undisclosed fee, signing a four-and-a-half-year deal with the English club. Lukić made his debut at Craven Cottage on 11 February, coming on in the 91st minute as a substitute for Andreas Pereira in a 2–0 win over Nottingham Forest. Lukić was included in the starting line-up and played the whole game in the 0–3 loss against Arsenal. Following a good run of games in the starting line-up, Lukić scored his first ever goal for Fulham in a 3–0 win against Tottenham Hotspur.
Ipswich Town On 8 August 2026, Lukić signed a four-year contract with newly promoted Premier League club Ipswich Town. The transfer fee was reportedly £9 million.
International career
Lukić debuted for the Serbian senior squad on 7 September 2018 in a 1–0 victory against Lithuania.
Lukić was selected in Serbia's squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. He played in all three group stage matches, against Brazil, Cameroon, and Switzerland. Serbia finished fourth in the group.
Lukić was selected in Serbia's squad for the UEFA Euro 2024. He played in all three group stage matches, against England, Slovenia and Denmark. Serbia finished fourth in the group.
Style of play Lukić is a midfielder who is also capable of playing in several positions. A right-footed player, he is usually deployed as an attacking midfielder, due to his vision, passing, technique, and striking ability, as well as his adeptness at making attacking runs.
Career statistics Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupEurope TotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsTeleoptik2013–14Serbian First League23300——2332014–15Serbian League Belgrade16600——166Total39900——399Partizan2014–15Serbian SuperLiga2000—00202015–16Serbian SuperLiga25230—30312Total27230—30332Torino 2016–17Serie A14010——1502017–18Serie A—10——102018–19Serie A24230——2722019–20Serie A30120—403612020–21Serie A32320——3432021–22Serie A35510——3652022–23Serie A16231——193Total15113131—4016814Levante (loan)2017–18La Liga16020——180Fulham2022–23Premier League12010——1302023–24Premier League2412020—2812024–25Premier League3003020—3502025–26Premier League2611031—302Total9227071—1063Ipswich Town2026–27Premier League500000—50Career total33026231717036728
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsSerbia20186020196020205020217120221112023702024100202580202660Total662
Scores and results list Serbia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Lukić goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Saša LukićNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 11 November 2021 Rajko Mitić Stadium, Belgrade, Serbia 1–0 4–0 Friendly2 24 September 2022 4–1 4–1 2022–23 UEFA Nations League B
Honours Partizan Serbian SuperLiga: 2014–15 Serbian Cup: 2015–16
References
External links
Profile at the Fulham F.C. website