Milan Aleksic makes firm decision on Sunderland future as ‘almost impossible’ verdict reached

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Two highly-rated attacking midfielders, two very different seasons in the red and white stripes of Premier League returnees Sunderland.

While Jobe Bellingham is on the verge of joining Borussia Dortmund in a deal which could see the England Under-21 international become the most expensive export in Sunderland’s history, should another 19-year-old depart Wearside this summer he would do so in very different circumstances.

Dortmund fought off a host of Premier League clubs, not to mention Bundesliga rivals Eintracht Frankfurt and RB Leipzig, as Jobe Bellingham prepares to walk the same path as his Real Madrid superstar sibling.

Milan Aleksic, in contrast, started only three of a potential 46 Championship games under Regis Le Bris last term.

During a season chock-full of outstanding individual performances, Aleksic was one of the more disappointing members of this Black Cats roster. Amid reports that Sunderland are keen on Wolves’ Tommy Doyle, the silky Serbian is unlikely to find game time any easier to come by in the division above either, regardless of Bellingham’s seemingly-inevitable departure.

Yet, while speculation over a potential loan exit continues to swirl, it appears that Milan Aleksic has plans of his own.

Sunderland’s Milan Aleksic snubs Serbia return with Partizan Belgrade

Serbian publication Mozzart Sport say that Aleksic, who joined Sunderland in a £3.5 million deal from FK Radnicki last summer, currently has no interest in re-joining a Partizan Belgrade outfit he represented from 2021 to 2023.

The second-most successful club in Serbian football, Partizan reportedly want Aleksic in the building as they look to snap Red Star’s stranglehold over the domestic scene.

Mozzart Sport add that Partizan recently made an enquiry to gauge the teenager’s availability.

Aleksic appears to feel that a return to the familiar surroundings of Serbia would be a step backwards in his young career, however. As such, a short-term deal is considered ‘almost impossible’ at this stage.

Kristjaan Speakman and Serbia boss have high hopes for Black Cats starlet

It is worth reminding Aleksic’s critics that, as sporting director Kristjaan Speakman put it, the plan was always to ease him in gradually.

“Milan is an incredibly talented young player, who is on the fringe of national team selection,” Speakman said of a man whose one and only Sunderland goal came against Stoke City in the FA Cup.

“We appreciate his creativity and versatility but understand that we’ll need to be patient as he adapts to a new country and a new club.”

Furthermore, Serbia boss Dragan Stojkovic is confident that a footballer he likens to a young Lionel Messi represents a bright future for the national team, even if a senior call-up evaded Aleksic once again in the build-up to June’s World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Andorra.

“He is only 18 years old, and I saw one reception of the ball like Messi,” Stojkovic told Mozzart before Aleksic’s 19th birthday. “This is something that not everyone can do. [He has] phenomenal control of the ball, vision, passing…

“He is already in our junior selections and the future is working for him. It is a question of the day when he will make his debut for the A team. That is my prediction.

“Aleksic showed a quality that I liked. I don’t care how old he is, he represents the future. He deserves to be given a chance, to be in the company of the best.”