Watford FC confirmed the signing of Danish forward Mileta Rajović on a five-year deal from Swedish top-flight club Kalmar FF in August 2023, with the towering, physical presence sporting the number nine shirt.
The 6ft 3in striker began his footballing career at youth level with Brøndby and Randers in his native Denmark, enjoying short spells across the Danish football pyramid at B.93, HB Køge and FC Roskilde.
It would be at Næstved Boldklub where Rajović would hone his goalscoring craft, hitting an impressive 30 goals in 58 matches, finishing the campaign as league top goalscorer and earning promotion to the second-tier in his first season at the club.
Subject to plenty of interest from beyond Denmark, Næstved received a club record fee to release Rajović to Swedish top-flight side Kalmar, where the imposing forward hit the ground running, scoring five goals in his opening four matches in the Swedish Cup.
Now in the Swedish Allsvenskan, Rajović had been a consistent marksman for Kalmar, etching his name onto the scoresheet against Armenian side Pyunik Yerevan in the UEFA European Conference League qualifiers in the summer of 2023.
The Dane hit the ground running following his move to the Hornets, grabbing a brace on his first start in a six-goal thriller as Watford earned a point away to Coventry City.
He then made it three goals from his first two starts with his first strike at Vicarage Road. His header in second-half stoppage time finally broke Birmingham City's resolve in an eventual 2-0 victory.
The striker continued to make an impact, scoring in three consecutive home games in October and November before netting the first of two Watford goals in four minutes to complete a late turnaround away at Blackburn Rovers.
Rajović ended his first season in English football by reaching double figures in the Sky Bet Championship, finishing as the Hornets' top goalscorer with 11 in all competitions.
