David Moyes could sign his next Tim Cahill for Everton after lofty manager claim
Everton have been linked with a potential move for Millwall striker Mihailo Ivanovic
Millwall’s handle on their social media accounts describes themselves as “a club like no other.” And David Moyes might be heading back to the Lions’ Den to unearth another gem over two decades on from snapping up arguably his most explosive bargain buy.
Back in the summer of 2004, with Blues still reeling from the loss of Wayne Rooney – the most-gifted home-grown talent in Everton’s history – Moyes looked to increase his team’s firepower with a prospect from the Championship who had caught the eye during Millwall’s march to the FA Cup final.
Tim Cahill had already served a significant apprenticeship with six full seasons in south London, amassing 249 appearances and 56 goals, but after hitting double figures in four of those last five campaigns, the Scot saw something he could work with.
And after sealing a £1.5million transfer, the Australia international would go on to help the Blues finish fourth in his first year – their highest-ever Premier League finish – and by the time he departed Goodison Park in 2012, he’d played 278 times and scored 68 times, including five in Merseyside Derbies.
Fast forward some 21 years, and now, back in charge at Everton, Moyes is being linked with a move for Millwall striker Mihailo Ivanovic, who Goodison News claim the Blues are keen to sign, with the player having generated interest from multiple Premier League clubs.
Born in Novid Sad on November 29, 2004 – the day after Cahill played for Everton in a 1-1 draw at Newcastle United with Craig Bellamy’s fifth-minute opener for the Magpies being cancelled out by Lee Carsley’s 56th minute equaliser – Ivanovic scored 10 times in 48 matches for his first club Vojvodina in the Serbian SuperLiga, but after his first stint abroad, a season-long loan at Sampdoria in 2022/23 consisted of just a three-minute cameo off the bench at the end of their final game, a 2-0 loss at Napoli, after finishing rock bottom and suffering relegation from Serie A, eyebrows were raised when Millwall lured him to Bermondsey on 30 August last year for a £2.8million fee.
The 6ft 2in centre-forward made his international debut for Serbia as a substitute in a goalless draw at home to Denmark on 18 November and he finished his first season in England with 13 goals in 40 games for Millwall, a dozen of which were in the Championship as he ended the campaign with a flourish, netting seven times in his final nine outings.
Manager Alex Neil was certainly impressed and after Ivanovic bagged a brace in a 2-1 home win over Portsmouth on 5 April – operating more in the attacking central midfield berth deployed by Cahill for most of his career rather than leading the line – his boss is quoted by the National as saying: “Any 20-year-old that leads the line in the Championship and can get nearly [10 goals], and he’ll get double figures before the end of the season.
“If you do that, that’s an unbelievable season and it won’t be surprising me if people start talking about him.
“I’ve already seen something the other day talking about the top 10 young talents in Europe – he’s one of them.
“He’s 20 years of age, there are very few strikers at that age that will lead the line at this level and also score goals, so he deserves all the plaudits he gets.”
One interesting facet of Ivanovic’s game is how he shapes up against current Everton strikers Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Beto. Statistics compiled by Comparisonator show that the Blues pair were leading the Premier League for the most aerial duels won in the 2024/25 season with Calvert-Lewin averaging 3.28 per 90 minutes and Beto 3.04 but, playing in the Championship, the young Serb tops them both with an average of 3.71.
*Comparisonator is a football data comparison tool from 271 professional leagues around the world which compares players and clubs by utilising over 100 different parameters. Click here for more details.