Eintracht teen Ilicevic in squad on 16th birthday, could match Moukoko record
Niko Ilicevic turns 16 on Saturday and is in Frankfurt's squad to face Hamburg on Sunday. If he plays, he would share the record as the Bundesliga's youngest player with Youssoufa Moukoko.
Archive image · Photo: Олег Батрак / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped and resized)
Eintracht Frankfurt youngster Niko Ilicevic turns 16 on Saturday and could make his Bundesliga debut a day later. Coach Adi Hütter said he would include the attacking player in the squad for Sunday's home game against Hamburger SV (5:30 p.m. local time). "He won't get to celebrate, because he is likely to be in the squad," Hütter said.
If Ilicevic comes on, he would be 16 years and one day old and would share the record as the youngest player in Bundesliga history with Youssoufa Moukoko, who debuted for Borussia Dortmund in November 2020. "If the situation arises that I bring him on, I will do it," Hütter said, adding: "It is also my duty, and our duty, to handle the boy very carefully."
Ilicevic has seven appearances, four goals and three assists for the under-19 team this season. The opponent carries special meaning for the family: his uncle Ivo Ilicevic played for Hamburg from 2011 to 2016.