The championship club mourns the tragic death of the talented goalkeeper at the age of 26

Coventry City’s Championship rivals Millwall are today mourning the “devastating” loss of goalkeeper Matija Sarkic, who has died aged just 26.

The Montenegro international, who has come through the ranks at Aston Villa and Wolves and played on loan for both Birmingham and Stoke, won nothing but plaudits for his performance in an international against Belgium on 5 June.

Reports from Montenegro say he was in an apartment in Budva when he suddenly felt ill. A statement from Millwall said: “Millwall Football Club is completely devastated to announce that Matija Sarkic has passed away at the age of 26.

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Sarkic, the Lions’ number one goalkeeper, has made 33 appearances for the club since joining from Wolverhampton Wanderers in August 2023. A Montenegro international, Matija has proudly represented his country on numerous occasions.

“Everyone at the club sends their love and condolences to Matija’s family and friends at this extremely sad time. The club will make no further comment at this time and ask that the privacy of Matija’s family be respected.”

Sarkic, who starred in the Lions’ 2-1 defeat to the Sky Blues at the CBS Arena in February, joined Villa’s academy in Anderlecht as a teenager and had loan spells with the likes of Wigan and Livingston as part of his development. He was offered a new contract in 2020 but moved to Wolves where he saw a clearer route to the first team.

He excelled on loan with Shrewsbury, Birmingham and Stoke City despite injuries. Was voted 2022 player of the year at Birmingham despite dislocating a shoulder in January.

A permanent move to Stoke fell through in the summer of 2023 and he instead moved to Millwall, where he played a key role in driving them to Championship survival.

Coventry City said: “The thoughts of everyone at Coventry City are with Matija’s family, friends and everyone at Millwall. Rest in peace Matija”.