Vanja Drkušić

Vanja Drkušić (born 30 October 1999) is a Slovenian footballer who plays as a centre-back for Russian Premier League club Zenit Saint Petersburg and the Slovenia national team.

Club career

In December 2015, Drkušić joined Dutch top-flight side Heerenveen, after receiving interest from Maribor, Dinamo Zagreb and Atalanta. In August 2019, he signed for Rende in the Italian third division. Before the second half of the 2019–20 season, Drkušić signed for Slovenian team Bravo. He made his debut for the team on 23 February 2020 in a 2–1 win against Tabor Sežana. On 11 July 2020, Drkušić scored his first goal for Bravo in a 1–1 draw with Domžale.

On 24 January 2022, Drkušić signed for Russian Premier League side Sochi for an alleged fee of €100,000. On 27 August 2022, he extended his contract with Sochi until 2025.

On 13 August 2024, Drkušić moved to fellow top-tier side Zenit Saint Petersburg, signing a five-year deal with the six-time defending Russian champions. Three days later, Zenit loaned him to Red Star Belgrade for the first part of the 2024–25 season.

International career

Drkušić represented Slovenia at youth international levels from under-17 to under-21. He made his debut for the senior team on 26 March 2023 in a European Championship qualifier against San Marino.