FM26 // FK Napredak
The Inheritance
Preseason & Transfer Window
Why Napredak
The brief was simple. Find a club in Europe, outside the big five leagues, that nobody would pick. Something properly random. The shortlist included FC Jazz Pori in Finland, GKS Tychy in Poland, and NK Istra 1961 in Croatia.
Napredak won because of the sheer audacity of the gap between where they are and where we’re going. Founded 1946. Serbian SuperLeague. Predicted 15th of 16. Budget of roughly nothing. Notable rivals: none. Board expectation: stay up.
Clean slate. Worst possible starting point. Perfect.
The target is the Champions League. No timeline. No shortcuts. Just Kruševac.
The brief, June 2025
What We Inherited
The squad inherited in June 2025 was exactly what you’d expect for a club predicted second bottom. Two 34-year-olds in Bukorac and Bastajić collecting wages. A goalkeeper — Savić — with determination 4 and stamina 6. Igor Jeličić, on loan from Norwegian side Kristiansund, earning £1,100 per week as the highest earner.
The genuine assets were buried in the lower wage brackets. Found them. Extended the ones who mattered. Built around the rest.
The Transfer Window
-
Out
Stefan Bukorac — sold to Dila
£16,750 // First ever sale -
In
Abass Badji — AM(C), Génération Foot
£81K // £800pw // The controversy -
In
Veljko Jovanović — ST, free agent
Free // £140pw // Jumping Reach 16 -
In
Ognjen Bogunović — GK, free agent
Free // £120pw // Handling 14 -
In
Amar Zeković — ST, U19s
Free // £100pw // Future asset
The Badji signing was the talking point. £81,000 and £800 per week for a player competing directly with Laban for the number 10 role. Thirteen clubs wanted Bogunović. Got him anyway. Bukorac sold for £16,750 — the first transfer fee in recent memory at this club.
£81,000 for Badji. The scout said sign him as a priority. The logic said his wages were obscene. Signed him anyway.
Transfer window verdict
The System
Route One. 4-2-3-1. Not glamorous. Not what anyone wants to build toward the Champions League. But honest about where the squad was in June 2025.
Jovanović as target forward. Badji at 10. Skrobonja and Lutovac as inside wingers — cutting in rather than crossing after early data showed crossing completion under 15%. Laban and Miletić as the CM pairing. Mid block, lower defensive line, trap inside, normal tackling. Pitch narrowed to 105×55 metres.