Matija Sarkic: Millwall goalkeeper dies, aged 26, after short illness

Millwall goalkeeper and Montenegro international Matija Sarkic has died at the age of 26, the club have announced.

The young shot-stopper reportedly fell ill in the town of Budva in Montenegro on Saturday morning and died shortly afterwards.

A club statement read: "Millwall Football Club is completely devastated to announce that Matija Sarkic has passed away at the age of 26.

"Everyone at the club sends their love and condolences to Matija's family and friends at this immensely sad time.

"The club will make no further comment at this time and asks that the privacy of Matija's family is respected."

Grimsby-born Sarkic began his career in Anderlecht's academy before joining Aston Villa in 2015.

Sarkic had loan spells at Wigan, Stratford, Havant and Waterlooville and Livingston and moved to Wolves in 2020.

He played 60 games during loan spells at Shrewsbury, Birmingham and Stoke before joining Millwall last August, where he made 33 appearances.

Sarkic made his Montenegro debut against Belarus in 2019 and was on international duty last week for a friendly against Belgium in which he was named man of the match.