Dejan Joveljić (; born 7 August 1999) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Major League Soccer club Seattle Sounders FC and the Serbia national team.

Club career Red Star Belgrade 2016–17 season Born in Bijeljina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Joveljić played with the local club Sloga Junajted, before he joined Serbian top-tier club Red Star Belgrade in his early years. After almost seven years with the club, playing in the youth categories, Joveljić signed his first professional contract on 16 March 2016, along with several teammates. Joveljić joined the first team under coach Miodrag Božović in 2016, but did not play official matches during the 2016–17 Serbian SuperLiga campaign due to mononucleosis he was diagnosed with in August 2016. In the meantime, he was listed in top 60 youth footballers by The Guardian. After he missed the rest of 2016 without training, Joveljić returned to the field in early 2017, playing with the youth team until the end of the season. He was also nominated as one of the competitors for the Golden Boy award in 2017.

2017–18 season In summer 2017, Joveljić presented as one of the club's top 10 youth prospects and spent the whole pre-season training with the first squad. He became a regular member of the first team from the beginning of September 2017, after an outstanding stint in the Serbian youth league. He was named as the third choice striker behind Richmond Boakye and Aleksandar Pešić. Later, on 19 September of the same year, Joveljić extended his contract with the club until 2021. He spent his first time in protocol for a senior game sitting on the bench as an unused substitution for a match against Mladost Lučani on 22 October 2017. Joveljić was named man of the match scoring three goals as a captain of the U19 squad in the youth Eternal Derby on 16 November 2017. He collected 33 goals in 14 appearances at total, during the first half-season in Serbian youth league. He made his official debut for Red Star Belgrade on 10 December 2017, replacing Pešić in the 70th minute of the Serbian SuperLiga match against Borac Čačak. On 5 May 2018, Joveljić got his first time in the starting lineup for a senior game, scoring a twice in 5–0 home victory over Spartak Subotica. Finally, Joveljić scored in the last match of the season against Voždovac on 19 May 2018, for the first trophy in his professional career.

2018–19 season In summer 2018, after overgrown youth selection, which previously qualified to the 2018–19 UEFA Youth League, Joveljić started the new season as a full senior. Following the complete pre-season period he spent with the first team, Joveljić was licensed for the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League qualifications. Following both of matches against Spartaks Jūrmala in the first round he missed, Joveljić started an opening match of the 2018–19 Serbian SuperLiga, scoring in 3–0 victory over Dinamo Vranje on 20 July 2018.

Eintracht Frankfurt On 14 June 2019, Joveljić signed a deal with German side Eintracht Frankfurt for a fee of €4 million.

Loan to Anderlecht Joveljić joined Belgian club Anderlecht on loan until the end of the season on 31 January 2020.

Loan to Wolfsberger AC Joveljić spent the 2020–21 season on loan at Austrian Bundesliga side Wolfsberger AC. He finished the season as the club's top scorer.

LA Galaxy On 5 August 2021, Joveljić signed a four-and-a-half-year deal with MLS side LA Galaxy as a U22 Initiative player. On 15 August 2024, Joveljić scored a brace in El Tráfico, securing LA Galaxy's 4–2 victory.

Sporting Kansas City On 1 February 2025, Joveljić signed a three year designated player contract with Sporting Kansas City for a transfer fee of $4 million. This marked the first cash-for-player trade in MLS history. Joveljić scored 26 goals and had 3 assists in 55 appearances for SKC.

Seattle Sounders FC On 25 August 2026, Joveljić was traded from Kansas City to Seattle Sounders FC for $6million while retaining his Designated Player contract. The four-year contract includes a club option that extends through the end of the 2030–31 season. He made his Sounders on 29 August against Chicago Fire FC, scoring both goals in a 2–2 draw. He became the second Sounders player to score twice in their debut, joining Fredy Montero who scored twice in his Sounders debut in 2009.

International career As an ethnic Serb born and raised in the Republika Srpska entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina, Joveljić has represented Serbia since his youth. After games with the Serbian under-16 & under-17 national teams, Joveljić made his debut for the under-18 level on 15 December 2015 in a match against Ukraine.

He missed the whole 2016 season due to illness and returned to the team scoring a goal in a match against Uzbekistan on 20 April 2017. Playing for the team, Joveljić notched six goals in six matches, including games against Czech Republic and France in which he scored twice each. In August 2017, Joveljić was called into the Serbia U19 squad, when he made a debut at the memorial tournament "Stevan Vilotić – Ćele". Scoring twice in 3–1 victory over Israel, Joveljić contributed to winning a trophy, after which he was elected for the most promising player on the tournament.

Joveljić got his first call-up for the Serbian under-21 team by coach Goran Đorović in December 2017. He made his debut for the team in an away friendly against Qatar on 17 December 2017. While at the under-19 level, Joveljić also scored against Bulgaria and Sweden in March 2018, missing to qualify for the 2018 UEFA European Under-19 Championship with Serbia.

He made his debut for the senior national team on 7 June 2021 in a friendly against Jamaica.

Style of play Joveljić, is a 6'-tall, 165-pound striker. He usually plays as a centre forward, but can also play as a winger. He has stood out since his youth career and was marked as one of the best prospective players in the Red Star Belgrade Academy, later joining the first team. In his final season with the youth team, Joveljić confirmed his status as a poacher and top goalscorer with several hat-tricks. He has been compared to Argentine footballer Mauro Icardi and a compatriot Luka Jović. Joveljić is skilled with both feet and is also good at headers and penalty shots.

Personal life Joveljić attended a private school in Novi Sad, Serbia. Besides football, he likes to play billiards and chess, having achieved a FIDE rating of over 2200 in the latter. He is also a Rubik's Cube enthusiast. His personal best is 39 seconds. In 2023 he competed at the European Championships in Blitz Chess in Zagreb, Croatia. With six points from 13 games, he made it to position 330 among 556 participants.

Career statistics Club

+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsRed Star Belgrade2016–17Serbian SuperLiga0000——002017–18Serbian SuperLiga430000—432018–19Serbian SuperLiga1785320—2411Total21115320002814Eintracht Frankfurt2019–20Bundesliga401051—101Anderlecht (loan)2019–20Belgian First Division A500000—50Wolfsberger AC (loan)2020–21Austrian Bundesliga34184082—4620LA Galaxy2021MLS16300——1632022MLS341243—1137152023MLS32630—203762024MLS311900——3119Total1134073203112743Sporting Kansas City2025MLS3418—20—36182026MLS21810——248Total55261020006026Seattle Sounders FC2026MLS03—00—03Career total1889718624331270107

International

Scores and results list Serbia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Joveljić goal. + List of international goals scored by Dejan JoveljićNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 16 June 2023Franz Horr Stadium, Vienna, Austria 2–2 3–2 Friendly2 3–2

Honours Red Star Belgrade Serbian SuperLiga: 2017–18, 2018–19 LA Galaxy MLS Cup: 2024 Western Conference (MLS): 2024

References

External links