Nicolas Milanovic is a 23-year-old Australian winger who plays for Western Sydney Wanderers in the A-League. Milanovic got his A-League start with Western United but broke through as a regular starter after moving to the Wanderers. He has played for Australia at U-23 level. Milanovic has started the 24/25 season red hot with 5 goals and 2 assists in his first 6 games. But I have some doubts about the sustainability of that production.
Milanovic dribbles and shoots a lot. He is a high-percentage and high-volume dribbler. He has a lot of flair and can change directions on a dime. He’s very quick with the ball at his feet. Milanovic is a high-touch player who likes to receive the ball in deeper, wider areas and run with it. Milanovic is usually looking to cut inside on his left foot and shoot. He does shoot a lot but his shot selection is, to put it mildly, less than ideal. He fires off a lot of low-percentage shots from well outside the box. So far, a lot of those shots have gone in. Perhaps Milanovic’s shot power, which is considerable, helps him score these shots at a higher rate than other players. But even taking this into account I have serious doubts that he can continue to score at this pace. I think it’s especially unlikely his current scoring rate would translate to a higher level against better goalkeepers. Additionally, some of his other decision-making as it relates to when to pass and when to shoot is not great. He just isn’t that efficient at turning his strong dribbling ability into high-danger chances, despite the number of goals he has scored this season.
Milanovic does have some passing ability. When he cuts inside he can generally find players making underlapping or overlapping runs. But he does not set teammates up with high-danger chances at a very high rate. He doesn’t stand out as a particularly excellent defensive player but he tracks back and fulfils his duties defensively.
The big question surrounding Milanovic is if 23 is too old for a tiger to change its stripes. If he could improve his shot selection and decision making there is no doubt he has all of the tools to be successful at a higher level. But failing that, I don’t see a lot of potential to take a significant step up.
Target Scouting 