The attacking midfielder Nikola Iliev returned to Botev (Plovdiv) on a permanent transfer from the Italian giant Inter. The 20-year-old midfielder began his career in professional football with the “yellow-black”.
“Today is a special day for Botev Plovdiv as we welcome Nikola Iliev back to our team. Nikola is one of the most talented young Bulgarian footballers, and we are glad that he is once again in the Botev family. It is important for us that he knows what Botev means and we are confident that he will take the next step in his career here,” said Botev’s sports director Artur Platek. “Nikola is a young footballer with great qualities and we know that together as a team we can develop this to the next level. We can’t wait to see him grow and contribute on the field.”
Iliev made his debut for the Canaries’ first team at the end of September 2019, when he was only 15 years old. He subsequently recorded two more matches before heading to Italy.
The midfielder moved to Inter in the summer of 2020 and excelled in the Nerazzurri’s Primavera. Iliev became a champion with the under-19 team of the Milan giants, and also impressed with his performances in the youth Champions League.
In September 2022, he debuted for the men’s national team of Bulgaria and already has 8 matches for the “lions”. In the 2023/24 season, Iliev played for CSKA 1948 on loan from Inter and took part in 17 matches.
Botev (Plovdiv) welcomes Nikola Iliev back and wishes him many successes in the “yellow-black” jersey!
Iliev is the sixth new addition to the Canaries in the summer transfer window after Alexa Maras, Alen Korošec, Hans Christian Bernat, Anthony Ujah and Andrey Yordanov.
