| Jan Mlakar | |
| Birth Date: | 23 October 1998 |
| Birth Place: | Ljubljana, Slovenia |
| Height: | 1.83 m |
| Position: | Forward, winger |
| Currentclub: | Pisa |
| Clubnumber: | 17 |
| Youthyears1: | –2008 |
| Youthclubs1: | Alfa |
| Youthyears2: | 2008–2015 |
| Youthclubs2: | Domžale |
| Youthyears3: | 2015–2017 |
| Youthclubs3: | Fiorentina |
| Years1: | 2017–2018 |
| Caps1: | 1 |
| Goals1: | 0 |
| Years2: | 2017–2018 |
| Clubs2: | → Venezia (loan) |
| Caps2: | 3 |
| Goals2: | 0 |
| Years3: | 2018–2019 |
| Clubs3: | Maribor |
| Caps3: | 28 |
| Goals3: | 12 |
| Years4: | 2019–2021 |
| Clubs4: | Brighton & Hove Albion |
| Caps4: | 0 |
| Goals4: | 0 |
| Years5: | 2019 |
| Clubs5: | → Maribor (loan) |
| Caps5: | 10 |
| Goals5: | 4 |
| Years6: | 2019–2020 |
| Clubs6: | → Queens Park Rangers (loan) |
| Caps6: | 6 |
| Goals6: | 0 |
| Years7: | 2020 |
| Clubs7: | → Wigan Athletic (loan) |
| Caps7: | 1 |
| Goals7: | 0 |
| Years8: | 2020–2021 |
| Clubs8: | → Maribor (loan) |
| Caps8: | 32 |
| Goals8: | 14 |
| Years9: | 2021–2023 |
| Clubs9: | Hajduk Split |
| Caps9: | 64 |
| Goals9: | 18 |
| Years10: | 2023– |
| Clubs10: | Pisa |
| Caps10: | 24 |
| Goals10: | 3 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2014–2015 |
| Nationalteam1: | Slovenia U17 |
| Nationalcaps1: | 9 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 8 |
| Nationalyears2: | 2015–2016 |
| Nationalteam2: | Slovenia U19 |
| Nationalcaps2: | 5 |
| Nationalgoals2: | 2 |
| Nationalyears3: | 2016–2019 |
| Nationalteam3: | Slovenia U21 |
| Nationalcaps3: | 19 |
| Nationalgoals3: | 8 |
| Nationalyears4: | 2019 |
| Nationalteam4: | Slovenia B |
| Nationalcaps4: | 1 |
| Nationalgoals4: | 0 |
| Nationalyears5: | 2021– |
| Nationalteam5: | Slovenia |
| Nationalcaps5: | 21 |
| Nationalgoals5: | 3 |
| Club-Update: | 10 June 2024 |
| Nationalteam-Update: | 1 July 2024 |
Jan Mlakar (born 23 October 1998) is a Slovenian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Italian club Pisa.
Born in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Mlakar started playing football at his hometown club Alfa, before moving to Domžale.[1] In early 2015, at the age of 16, Mlakar was transferred to the Italian Serie A side Fiorentina for a reported fee of €1 million.[1] He captained Fiorentina's under-19 side and was also the team's top goalscorer in the 2016–17 season.[2] He made his professional senior debut on 30 April 2017 in a league match against Palermo, replacing his fellow countryman Josip Iličić in the 70th minute.[3] For the 2017–18 season, he was loaned to the Serie B side Venezia, where he made three league appearances.
In January 2018, Mlakar returned to Slovenia and joined Maribor, signing a four-and-a-half-year contract.[4]
In January 2019, Mlakar signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with Brighton & Hove Albion. He was immediately loaned back to Maribor until the end of the season.[5] With the team, he won his first senior trophy as Maribor were crowned champions during the 2018–19 season.[6] Overall, Mlakar scored 17 goals for Maribor in 44 appearances over a span of two seasons.[6]
Upon return, he was loaned out again on 24 July 2019 to the Championship side Queens Park Rangers in a one-year deal.[7] Mlakar made his debut for The R's on 13 August 2019 in the first round of the EFL Cup against Bristol City, where he came on as a substitute. The game finished 3–3 with QPR winning 5–4 on penalties.[8] His first start also came in the EFL Cup where he played the full match in the 2–0 home defeat against Portsmouth.[9] He made his league debut coming on as a substitute in a 2–1 away win over Sheffield Wednesday on 31 August 2019.[10]
After being recalled by Brighton from QPR in January 2020, he joined another Championship side, Wigan Athletic, on loan until the end of the season.[11] [12] On 4 July 2020, Mlakar made his debut for the Latics, coming on as a substitute away at Brentford in a 3–0 defeat.[13]
On 14 August 2020, Brighton have sent Mlakar on another loan to the Slovenian PrvaLiga side Maribor until the end of the 2020–21 season.[14] He scored his first goal on his return to Slovenia in his second appearance on 12 September in a 4–1 home victory over Bravo after coming on as a substitute.[15]
On 1 July 2021, Mlakar signed a four-year contract with Croatian club Hajduk Split.[16] On 17 July, he made his debut in a Croatian First League match against Lokomotiva Zagreb. During the match, he scored both Hajduk's goals in an eventual 2–2 draw.[17]
On 27 August 2023, Mlakar returned to Italy with Serie B club Pisa.[18]
Mlakar was capped for Slovenia at all youth levels from under-15 to under-21.[19] He was the top goalscorer of the qualifications for the 2015 UEFA European Under-17 Championship, with eight goals.[1] In June 2019, Mlakar was included in the senior squad for the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying match against Latvia,[20] but was an unused substitution.[21]
As the captain of the under-21 team, he led the player's rebellion against the manager Primož Gliha in October 2020 due to his alleged inappropriate behavior towards players.[22] [23] As a result, Gliha was sacked by the Football Association of Slovenia, and Mlakar was not included in the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship squad by the new manager Milenko Ačimovič.[24] [25]
Mlakar was part of the senior squad for friendly matches away to North Macedonia and at home against Gibraltar in June 2021.[26] He debuted against the former on 1 June, starting the match and playing for 79 minutes in an eventual 1–1 draw.[27] Mlakar also started the game at home against Gibraltar on 4 June, where he scored his first senior international goal, putting his nation 4–0 ahead in an eventual 6–0 victory.[28]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Fiorentina | 2016–17 | Serie A | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| Venezia (loan) | 2017–18 | Serie B | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | |||
| Maribor | 2017–18 | Slovenian PrvaLiga | 12 | 3 | — | — | — | — | 12 | 3 | ||||
| 2018–19 | Slovenian PrvaLiga | 26 | 13 | 3 | 1 | — | 3 | 0 | — | 32 | 14 | |||
| Total | 38 | 16 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 17 | ||
| Brighton & Hove Albion | 2019–20 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Queens Park Rangers (loan) | 2019–20 | Championship | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 8 | 0 | ||
| Wigan Athletic (loan) | 2019–20 | Championship | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| Maribor (loan) | 2020–21 | Slovenian PrvaLiga | 32 | 14 | 2 | 1 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 35 | 15 | ||
| Hajduk Split | 2021–22 | Croatian First League | 27 | 7 | 4 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 33 | 7 | ||
| 2022–23 | Croatian League | 33 | 11 | 5 | 3 | — | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 14 | ||
| Total | 60 | 18 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 74 | 21 | ||
| Career total | 141 | 48 | 15 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 167 | 53 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slovenia | 2021 | 5 | 1 | |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2023 | 8 | 1 | ||
| 2024 | 7 | 1 | ||
| Total | 21 | 3 | ||
Scores and results list Slovenia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Mlakar goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 June 2021 | Bonifika Stadium, Koper, Slovenia | 2 | 4–0 | 6–0 | Friendly | |
| 2 | 10 September 2023 | San Marino Stadium, Serravalle, San Marino | 10 | 2–0 | 4–0 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying | |
| 3 | 4 June 2024 | Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia | 16 | 1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly | |
Maribor
Hajduk Split
Individual