New Nerazzurri Firepower: Nikola Krstović joins Atalanta!
25-Year-Old Montenegrin Striker arrives from Lecce
And that makes six. After Kossounou, Kamaldeen Sulemana, Ahanor, Sportiello and Zalewski, Nikola Krstović becomes the sixth permanent signing for Atalanta BC in the current summer transfer window. The Club has acquired the striker's registration from US Lecce.
The Montenegrin centre-forward, born in 2000, has chosen the number 90 shirt. With two Serie A campaigns already under his belt, Krstović played a key role in Lecce's successful battle to stay up last season, contributing 11 goals and 5 assists, accounting for more than half of the team's overall goal tally.
Krstović also brings valuable European experience, with 14 appearances across UEFA competitions: 3 in UEFA Champions League qualifiers, 3 in UEFA Europa League qualifiers (scoring once) and 5 goals in 8 UEFA Conference League qualifying matches. Among his individual accolades, he boasts two top scorer titles: first in the Montenegrin top flight, and later in the Slovak Super Liga. He has also made 27 appearances for the Montenegro National Team, scoring 6 goals and providing 2 assists, after making his debut on March 28 2022 against Greece.
A product of Zeta Golubovci’s youth academy, his hometown club, Krstović made his first-team debut at just 16 on April 23 2016 in a 1-1 draw against Iskra Danilovgrad. On March 11 2017, he scored his first professional goals, netting a brace in the 3-0 win over Jedinstvo Bijelo Poljie. The following season, still with Zeta, he rose to prominence, scoring 13 goals, before claiming the Montenegrin league Golden Boot in 2018/19 with 17 goals in 33 appearances.
In the summer of 2019 he completed a move to Red Star Belgrade, completing a loan spell at Grafičar Belgrado before rejoining the Crveno-beli in the 2020/21 campaign and winning both the Serbian league title and the domestic cup, scoring in the quarter-finals and converting a penalty in the final against Partizan.
Between 2021 and 2023, Krstović made his mark in the Slovak Super Liga with DAC Dunajská Streda, with whom he claimed the top scorer title in 2022/23 thanks to 18 goals in 27 appearances.
He arrived in Italy in late summer 2023, joining Lecce. He made an immediate impact in the Serie A as he completed a remarkable scoring streak of three goals in his first three league games against Fiorentina, Salernitana and Monza respectively. During the same season, he was also named Montenegrin Footballer of the Year.
On January 11 2025, he bagged his first Serie A brace in the away win against Empoli. Upon joining the Nerazzurri, Krstović ended his two-year spell in Salento with an offensive tally of 20 goals and 7 assists in 75 appearances across all competitions.
The Percassi and Pagliuca families, along with the entire Club, extend a warm welcome to Nikola and wish him the very best, both on and off the pitch, in his journey in Nerazzurri colours.