A new arrival at Rapid: Welcome Filip Stojkovic!

A "Red Star" turns Green and White! In Filip Stojkovic, Rapid were able to bring in an experienced international before the end of the transfer window. The 26 year old (born January 22nd 1993) right-footer already has 15 senior caps for his native Montenegro, and 40 European matches under his belt, including 5 in the group stages of last season's UEFA Champions League with Red Star Belgrade.

Between FK Cukaricki and Red Star, Stojkovic amassed a total of 215 matches, with 4 goals and 24 assists to his name. The 180cm Montenegrin was mainly deployed as a right wing-back, but also had game time at right midfield and centre back, and he's already passed all the necessary tests in Vienna, and put pen to paper on a deal with Rapid until 2022. The exact nature of the deal has remained undisclosed, but the reputable online stats portal transfermarkt.at valued Stojkovic most recently at around 3 million Euro.

Managing Director Zoran Barisic personally finalised the deal in Belgrade, and expressed his pleasure in adding Stojkovic to Rapid’s ranks: "I first noticed him five years ago in a European game between Cukaricki and SV Grödig, but at the time a deal was out of the question for financial reasons. I kept an eye on him since then though, and after the departure of Mert Müldür he was my first choice as a successor. Our whole training team, from Didi Kühbauer at the top, are really convinced by his abilities. Stojkovic will help out right away, he’s experienced and versatile, even former player Dejan Savicevic spoke highly of him. We’re really fortunate that we can bring in a player of his class, and I'd like to thank the team at Red Star Belgrade for their hard but fair negotiations in the last few days."

Filip Stojkovic, who will wear the number 22, said: "Rapid Vienna is a big name in European football, and the club is also very well known in my home country. I’m happy that I can play for this club, just as the president of our football association, Dejan Savicevic, once did, and I want to do my bit to ensure that we can bring European football back to this wonderful stadium next season."

The Montenegrin, who has also been brought up to speed on his new club by his countryman and ex-Rapid player Branko Boskovic, is due to start training with his team mates at the Allianz Stadium next week!

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