Luca Vildoza close to joining Partizan: a possible return to Belgrade that would reverberate throughout the EuroLeague
Argentine point guard Luca Vildoza is in the final stage of negotiations with Partizan and could play in Belgrade again after one season with Virtus, but this time in the jersey of the club whose city rival was previously one of the most important parts of his European career. On July 26, 2026, citing sources familiar with the talks, Eurohoops reported that negotiations regarding his departure from Bologna and move to Partizan were very close to completion. The same source states that Vildoza signed a three-year contract with Virtus last summer, but that the agreement contains exit clauses that could allow him to change clubs before the end of the agreed term. At the time the information was published, neither Partizan nor Virtus had officially confirmed the transfer, so for now it can be described as highly advanced negotiations rather than a completed deal. Changes to the Virtus project and Partizan's intensive squad-building for the 2026/27 season nevertheless give the information more weight than an ordinary summer rumor.
Negotiations in the final stage, but without official confirmation
According to information from Eurohoops, Vildoza received a very good offer from Partizan, and it was reportedly this proposal that changed his original plans for the continuation of his career. After the 2025/26 season, Virtus began a new phase under Spanish coach Álex Mumbrú and carried out an extensive reconstruction of its roster during the summer. New players arrived in Bologna for the perimeter positions, while Alessandro Pajola, a long-standing symbol of Virtus's defense and playmaking, had already moved to Partizan. Both clubs are therefore changing the structure of their backcourts at the same time. Nevertheless, until an official decision is announced regarding the termination of the contract, the activation of an exit clause or another legal model for parting ways with Virtus, it is not possible to claim that the transfer has been completed. The Italian club's official website still lists him among the team's players, further confirming that the formal part of the process had not yet been publicly concluded at the time of publication.
Vildoza joined Virtus on June 25, 2025, on a multi-year contract and amid great expectations. General manager Paolo Ronci presented him at the time as a talented and experienced player with a winning mentality, particularly highlighting his previous successful work with Duško Ivanović. The Italian club saw Vildoza as an organizer capable of controlling the tempo, creating from the pick-and-roll and connecting his teammates, rather than merely as a guard who would decide games through individual production. Virtus's own tactical presentation of his profile emphasized his reading of the game, ball control, changes of pace, shooting off the dribble and ability to open passing lanes. These are precisely the elements that could make him interesting to Partizan, especially in EuroLeague games in which possession stability and decision-making under pressure are often more important than the sheer number of points scored.
A transfer with major symbolic significance
A possible move to Partizan would attract attention even if viewed exclusively through sporting criteria, but Vildoza's past gives the entire story an additional dimension. The Argentine played for Crvena zvezda in the 2022/23 season, winning the Serbian league and cup with the club, and during his stay in Belgrade he built a strong bond with the supporters and became one of the team's most recognizable players. Euroleague Basketball named him the competition's Most Valuable Player for December 2022, following a period in which he was the central figure in Zvezda's rise in results. His potential arrival among the black-and-whites would therefore be perceived as one of the most high-profile direct moves between the opposing sides of Belgrade's basketball scene, although it would not be a transfer directly from one club to the other. Between his two Belgrade engagements, Vildoza played in Greece and Italy, but the memory of his season with Crvena zvezda remained strong enough to make reactions from supporters inevitable.
His Greek chapter adds another historical curiosity. After Crvena zvezda, he signed for Panathinaikos, with whom he won the EuroLeague and Greek championship in 2024, before moving to Olympiacos and winning another Greek league title in 2025. If he signs for Partizan, Vildoza would therefore have worn the jerseys of four clubs forming the two best-known city rivalries in European basketball: Panathinaikos and Olympiacos in Athens, and Crvena zvezda and Partizan in Belgrade. Spanish journalist Chema de Lucas pointed out that Vildoza could become the first player to have appeared for all four clubs from these two major EuroLeague rivalries. That fact would ensure exceptional media visibility for the transfer and further mark every future city derby.
Belgrade was the setting for his major return to the European stage
Vildoza's season with Crvena zvezda had special significance because it followed an unsuccessful attempt to establish himself permanently in the NBA. After several years with Baskonia, he left for the United States, signed a contract with the New York Knicks and was later part of the Milwaukee Bucks system, but he was unable to build a consistent NBA role. His return to Europe and arrival in Belgrade in October 2022 quickly placed him once again among the prominent EuroLeague guards. With Zvezda, he was given creative freedom, responsibility in the closing stages and the opportunity to play with the ball in his hands, allowing him to display his combination of penetration, shooting and improvisation. When he left for Panathinaikos, the club publicly thanked the Argentine, recalling the domestic trophies won and his contribution during his only season in the red-and-white jersey.
For precisely that reason, returning to Belgrade would not merely represent a change of address. Vildoza knows the city's atmosphere, the pressure surrounding major clubs and the specific emotional weight of EuroLeague nights at the Belgrade Arena. Familiarity with the environment could make adaptation to everyday life easier, but it would simultaneously increase expectations because every one of his performances would be compared with his best periods at Zvezda. Partizan would ask him to turn experience into stability, rather than to repeat the identical role he had in the 2022/23 season. At that time, he was often the primary creator and one of the leading scorers, whereas in Partizan's current roster he would have to share responsibility with several guards of different profiles. His ability to accept such a distribution of roles could be just as important as his shooting, assists or individual moves.
What Vildoza would bring to Partizan's backcourt
Partizan's official roster for the new season already includes Carlik Jones and newcomer Alessandro Pajola, two guards whose characteristics could complement Vildoza's. Jones can take on a large share of the offensive creation and attack the rim, while Pajola is known for his on-ball defense, pressure on opposing playmakers and disciplined management of the team. Between them, Vildoza could offer a hybrid profile: creative enough to run the offense, dangerous enough as a shooter to play without the ball and experienced enough to take responsibility in closing stages. Such a distribution would allow coach Joan Peñarroya to use different guard pairings depending on the opponent, the pace of the game and defensive requirements. In theory, Partizan would gain more ways to escape aggressive pressure and more players capable of initiating the offense without relying entirely on one primary point guard.
Vildoza's statistical production in the 2025/26 season was not at the level of his best year with Crvena zvezda, but the numbers do not describe his entire role. According to RealGM's aggregate data for the international season, he averaged 7.6 points, 4.2 assists, 2.4 rebounds and 1.4 steals while shooting 45 percent from the field. Such a profile shows that in Bologna he was more involved in organizing and connecting the offense than in taking a large number of shots. Particularly valuable for Partizan could be his ability to create an advantage with the first dribble and find big men after a defensive switch. At the same time, his tendency toward riskier passes and occasional fluctuations in tempo control would require clearly defined responsibilities, especially on a team that wants to reduce the number of empty possessions in close games.
Vildoza is 191 centimeters tall and can cover both guard positions. Offensively, he is best suited to a game in which he is allowed to change pace, use screens from big men and punish the defense with a shot off the dribble or a timely pass toward the rim and the corners. Defensively, he relies on anticipation, active hands and reading passing lanes, which often leads to steals. Virtus's analysis of his profile emphasized that he performs better in set on-ball defense than in transition situations, an important nuance for a team that wants to play aggressively while also controlling its defensive recovery. In Partizan's system, his effectiveness would therefore also depend on collective discipline, rather than solely on his individual form.
Partizan is building a team after a demanding season
The Belgrade club enters the new season after a difficult 2025/26 campaign in terms of results. Partizan finished the EuroLeague phase with a record of 16 wins and 22 losses, outside the playoffs and play-in, although it won its final game of the competition against Baskonia. In the regional ABA League, it reached the final but lost the series to Dubai, while the club's official statement after the fourth game confirmed that the team had failed to defend the title. Coach Joan Peñarroya then emphasized the need for more energy, better rebounding control and greater precision in key moments. The summer changes show that the club is trying to increase defensive toughness, experience and rotation depth, particularly in the positions that determine the rhythm of the game.
Pajola's arrival has already been officially confirmed, and Partizan's current roster also includes new names such as Kevarrius Hayes and Lamar Stevens. Alongside them, the list features captain Vanja Marinković, Carlik Jones, Jabari Parker, Tonye Jekiri and Joffrey Lauvergne, making it clear that the club is building a team with a large number of experienced players and various tactical possibilities. Vildoza would add another basketball player to the project who knows the EuroLeague, demanding domestic leagues and the pressure of major rivalries. His career includes a Spanish championship with Baskonia, the EuroLeague and Greek championship with Panathinaikos, Serbian trophies with Crvena zvezda and the Greek championship with Olympiacos. Such a résumé does not guarantee success in a new environment, but it would provide Partizan with experience from teams with different styles and from locker rooms in which expectations were focused on winning trophies.
A career marked by major clubs and changing roles
Vildoza earned his European recognition with Baskonia, where from 2016 to 2021 he developed from a talented Argentine guard into an important player for a EuroLeague team. The peak of that period came in 2020, when he won the Spanish championship with the club from Vitoria and received the award for the Most Valuable Player of the final tournament. His game at the time was based on courage in key moments, the ability to create his own shot and defensive activity. After his American episode, Crvena zvezda returned him to the role of one of the team's leaders, while at Panathinaikos he had to operate within a significantly deeper rotation on a team that won the EuroLeague. In the 2024 final against Real Madrid, he scored three points and won the title as part of a squad that turned the game around in the second half in Berlin.
His subsequent move to Olympiacos further confirmed his willingness to accept sensitive transfers between major rivals. In July 2024, the Greek club announced that it had signed him to a two-year contract, only a few weeks after he left Panathinaikos. After one season in Piraeus, he moved to Virtus, once again changing environment and coaching system. Such dynamics can be interpreted in two ways: as a sign that he has not found long-term stability in recent years, but also as proof that clubs at the highest European level still view him as a player who can help with demanding projects. In the event of an agreement, Partizan would offer him another opportunity for an important role in the city where he already played his statistically and emotionally most memorable season after returning from the NBA system.
What still needs to be resolved before the signing
Before an official announcement, Vildoza's contractual status with Virtus must be resolved and all the standard steps accompanying an international transfer must be completed, including formal documentation, medical examinations and player registration. Eurohoops states that exit clauses exist, but details regarding their activation, any potential compensation or the financial division of obligations have not been made public. For that reason, it is currently impossible to state reliably the length of a potential contract with Partizan, its value or the exact date on which he would join the team. It has also not been officially confirmed whether a final agreement has been reached among all parties involved or whether the final terms are still being aligned. An advanced stage of negotiations therefore does not automatically mean that the signing is inevitable.
If the deal is completed, Vildoza's return to Belgrade will be one of the most striking moves of the 2026 EuroLeague summer. Not only because a former Crvena zvezda player would put on a Partizan jersey, but also because it would reopen the question of whether he can approach the level of play with which he won over the Belgrade public and earned an individual EuroLeague award several years ago. For Partizan, the most important thing would be to acquire a reliable organizer, an additional creator and a player accustomed to games under enormous pressure. For Vildoza, it would be an opportunity to assume a more stable role in an ambitious project after seasons of changing responsibilities. Until an official announcement, however, the transfer remains highly likely but still unconfirmed.
Sources:
- Eurohoops – report dated July 26, 2026, on the final stage of negotiations between Luca Vildoza and Partizan and the contractual clauses at Virtus (link)
- Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna – official announcement of Vildoza's arrival and multi-year contract from June 2025 (link)
- Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna – the club's tactical analysis of Vildoza's profile, characteristics and trophies won up to that point (link)
- KK Partizan – official list of players and coaching staff for the 2026/27 season (link)
- KK Partizan – official report on the end of the 2025/26 season and defeat to Dubai in the ABA League final (link)
- Eurohoops – confirmation of Alessandro Pajola's arrival at Partizan and an overview of some of the team's summer changes (link)
- Eurohoops – report on the end of Partizan's EuroLeague season with a record of 16 wins and 22 losses (link)
- RealGM – aggregate statistics for Luca Vildoza for the 2025/26 international season (link)
- Euroleague Basketball – official announcement naming Vildoza the EuroLeague's Most Valuable Player for December 2022 (link)
- KK Crvena zvezda – official farewell announcement following Vildoza's departure for Panathinaikos (link)
- Panathinaikos BC – official report on winning the 2024 EuroLeague and Vildoza's appearance in the final (link)
- Olympiacos BC – official announcement of Luca Vildoza's signing in July 2024 and an overview of his career and trophies (link)