Dejan Iliev

Dejan Iliev (Дејан Илиев; born 25 February 1995) is a Macedonian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Liga I club UTA Arad and for the North Macedonia national team.

Early life
Iliev was born in Strumica, Macedonia and first played youth club football for his hometown club of FK Belasica. He was spotted by Arsenal scouts and signed to join their academy in London in 2012.

Arsenal
Iliev joined the Arsenal Academy immediately upon signing the youth contract. He signed a three-year contract extension from March 2015 until June 2018, when he signed another extension. Iliev appeared three times in the Arsenal squad as an unused substitute: against Norwich in the Carabao Cup in October 2017; and twice in the UEFA Europa League: against Qarabağ and against Chelsea in the final as the third goalkeeper.

Iliev's contract with the club was terminated in January 2022 by mutual consent.

Loan to Sereď
In July 2019, he moved to ŠKF Sereď for a one-year loan, and on the 22nd of the same month he made his debut for his new club in the 2–0 loss to Spartak Trnava.

Loan to Jagiellonia Białystok
After an early end to his loan with ŠKF Sereď, Iliev opted to join Polish Ekstraklasa club Jagiellonia Białystok for the remainder of the 2019–20 season. He made four appearances after suffering an injury.

Loan to Shrewsbury Town
On 8 October 2020, Iliev joined League One side Shrewsbury Town on a short-term loan deal. On 28 January 2021, he returned to Arsenal.

Second loan to Sereď
On 26 July 2021, Arsenal announced that Iliev had returned to ŠKF Sereď on a season-long loan deal.

AS Trenčín
On 7 February 2022, Iliev signed a one-and-a-half-year contract with Fortuna Liga club AS Trenčín. He made his debut in goal on 30 April in a 5–2 victory against Tatran Liptovský Mikuláš.

HJK Helsinki
On 8 February 2023, Iliev signed with HJK in Finland for the 2023 season, with an option for 2024. On 1 August 2023, it was announced that Iliev will be ruled out for the rest of the season following an elbow injury suffered in a Veikkausliiga match against SJK. At the end of the season, HJK did not exercise their option and Iliev was released.

Sarajevo
In December 2023, Iliev signed with Bosnian Premier League club Sarajevo. At the end of the season, the club decided not to extend Iliev's contract.

UTA Arad
On 18 June 2024, Iliev signed with Liga I club UTA Arad.

International career
Iliev has appeared for Macedonia's under-19 and under-21 teams a total of ten times. He has been called up to the senior squad and made his debut in 2022.

Honours
Arsenal
 * UEFA Europa League runner-up: 2018–19

HJK
 * Veikkausliiga: 2023
 * Finnish League Cup: 2023