A Serbian Playmaker Steps into the Premier League Spotlight

By Dan Stelly | Photo via Southampton FC

Note: Each week, we work with EA Sports FIFA, one of our sponsors, to highlight a player from their Ultimate Team, which assembles the best players from international and club competition around the world. If you’d like to have this piece (along with other dispatches from the soccer universe) delivered straight to your inbox, sign up for our weekly bulletin.

Dušan Tadić is our player of the week for his one-goal, four-assist performance in Southampton’s 8–0 romp over Sunderland.

Tadić grew up in the youth system of his local Serbian club before signing a professional contract with FK Vojvodina in 2006. Four years later, the attacker moved to FC Groningen and lit up the Eredivisie, notching 18 assists — the third most in Europe — during his first season. Tadić soon joined FC Twente and continued his scoring ways with 36 goals and 32 assists in all competitions over two seasons.

The forward’s dominance in Holland paid off with a summer move to Southampton, where the Serbian international has lived up to expectations. Tadić’s first goal for Saints came in a victory over Arsenal in a third-round Capital One Cup tie at the Emirates Stadium — not a bad place to open your account. His league form, meanwhile, has been impressive, with one goal and a joint-best seven assists through his first eight matches.