Dejan Iliev (Macedonian: Дејан Илиев; born 25 February 1995) is a Macedonian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Liga I club UTA Arad and for the North Macedonia national team.
Iliev was born in Strumica, Macedonia[3] and first played youth club football for his hometown club of FK Belasica. He was spotted by Arsenal scouts and signed to join their academy in London in 2012.[4]
Iliev joined the Arsenal Academy immediately upon signing the youth contract.[4] He signed a three-year contract extension from March 2015 until June 2018,[5] when he signed another extension.[6] Iliev appeared three times in the Arsenal squad as an unused substitute: against Norwich in the Carabao Cup in October 2017; and twice in the UEFA Europa League: against Qarabağ and against Chelsea in the final as the third goalkeeper.[7][8][9]
Iliev's contract with the club was terminated in January 2022 by mutual consent.[10][11]
In July 2019, he moved to ŠKF Sereď for a one-year loan, and on the 22nd of the same month he made his debut for his new club in the 2–0 loss to Spartak Trnava.[12][13][14]
After an early end to his loan with ŠKF Sereď, Iliev opted to join Polish Ekstraklasa club Jagiellonia Białystok for the remainder of the 2019–20 season.[15] He made four appearances after suffering an injury.
On 8 October 2020, Iliev joined League One side Shrewsbury Town on a short-term loan deal.[16] On 28 January 2021, he returned to Arsenal.[17]
On 26 July 2021, Arsenal announced that Iliev had returned to ŠKF Sereď on a season-long loan deal.[18]
On 7 February 2022, Iliev signed a one-and-a-half-year contract with Fortuna Liga club AS Trenčín.[19] He made his debut in goal on 30 April in a 5–2 victory against Tatran Liptovský Mikuláš.[20]
On 8 February 2023, Iliev signed with HJK Helsinki in Finland for the 2023 season, with an option for 2024.[21] On 1 August 2023, it was announced that Iliev will be ruled out for the rest of the season following an elbow injury suffered in a Veikkausliiga match against SJK Seinäjoki.[22] At the end of the season, HJK did not exercise their option and Iliev was released.
In December 2023, Iliev signed with Bosnian Premier League club Sarajevo.[23][24] At the end of the season, the club decided not to extend Iliev's contract.[25]
On 18 June 2024, Iliev signed with Liga I club UTA Arad.[26]
Iliev has appeared for Macedonia's under-19 and under-21 teams a total of ten times. He has been called up to the senior squad and made his debut in 2022.
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Arsenal | 2017–18 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Arsenal U21 | 2018–19 | — | — | — | — | — | 4[c] | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||||
| Sereď (loan) | 2019–20 | Slovak First League | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 18 | 0 | |||
| Jagiellonia Białystok (loan) | 2019–20 | Ekstraklasa | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | |||
| Shrewsbury Town (loan) | 2020–21 | League One | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| Sereď (loan) | 2021–22 | Slovak First League | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 10 | 0 | |||
| AS Trenčín | 2021–22 | Slovak First League | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2[d] | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
| HJK Helsinki | 2023 | Veikkausliiga | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1[e] | 0 | — | 11 | 0 | |
| Sarajevo | 2023–24 | Bosnian Premier League | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 14 | 0 | |||
| UTA Arad | 2024–25 | Liga I | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 20 | 0 | |||
| 2025–26 | Liga I | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 11 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 30 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 31 | 0 | |||||
| Career total | 87 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 100 | 0 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Macedonia | |||
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 1 | 0 | |
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