On 7 September 2026 AC Milan announced they had sold Demirel Hodzic to Nogometni klub Istra 1961 on a permanent deal. The statement runs to two lines, and the date is not an accident: it was the last day a Croatian club could register a player arriving from abroad.
The statement, in full
“AC Milan announces that it has permanently transferred the registration rights of the player Demirel Hodzic to Nogometni klub Istra 1961. The club thanks Demirel for the professionalism he has shown and wishes him the best personally and professionally.”
Two phrases deserve attention. Permanently: this is not a loan, Milan will not see him again and have declared no buy-back right. Registration rights: it is the formula Italian clubs use for the transfer of a contract, and it says that what changes hands is the employment relationship, not an object.
The club published no figure. Any amount circulating today would not come from Milan.
Why the date was forced
The Italian window has been shut since 1 September 2026, which makes the deal look like an anomaly. It is not, and the reason is written in FIGC circular 235/A, the document that sets the registration deadlines for the 2026/2027 season:
“For transfers of contract abroad, the deadlines set by the transfer windows of the destination associations shall apply.”
The destination association here is the Croatian one, and its calendar of registration periods for players arriving from abroad, published by the federation itself, sets the summer period for the SuperSport HNL from 27 June to 7 September 2026.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Could Milan sell after 1 September? | yes, abroad, within the window of the buying country |
| Could Istra 1961 buy on 7 September? | yes, it was the last available day |
| Can Milan replace him with another player? | no, not from another club: the Italian window is shut |
It is the same asymmetry that governs dozens of deals in late August and early September: a club can let players leave, it cannot buy the ones it lacks.
Who the player is
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Name | Demirel Hodzic |
| Born | Lerum, Sweden, March 2005 |
| Citizenship | Swedish and Bosnian |
| Height | 1.94 m |
| Position | midfielder, defensive-minded |
| Youth football | IFK Göteborg, then Bologna |
| Milan | from August 2024, between Primavera and Milan Futuro |
| 2026 loan | Örgryte IS, Allsvenskan, 7 appearances |
| International | Sweden Under 19 and Under 21 |
A near two-metre holding midfielder with dual citizenship and three countries in his development is exactly the profile reserve-team clubs look for: cheap, physically promising and resaleable. Public databases do not agree on his exact date of birth, some giving 7 March 2005 and others the 8th: the month and the year are certain, the day is not, and we would rather write that than pick one at random.
What the sale says, beyond the name
Milan signed him in the summer of 2024 and put him on the reserve-team path. In 2026 they loaned him to Örgryte in Sweden, where he played seven Allsvenskan games. Today’s permanent transfer ends that loan early.
A club that sells a twenty-one-year-old permanently after investing two years in him is saying one thing: it does not see him in the first team, and prefers the certain fee to the right to see him again. It is a legitimate and frequent choice, and it is the flip side of reserve teams: they exist to give young players minutes, not to keep them forever.
Istra 1961, for their part, are a club from Pula in Croatia’s top division who have built their squad exactly this way in recent years, with young players brought in from abroad in the final week of the window.
What to watch now
The measure over the coming months is not how much Istra paid, which nobody has declared. It is minutes: a 1.94 m midfielder arriving after the season has started plays only if the Croatian league gives him what the Allsvenskan gave him in seven games.
The most honest benchmark is his own career: between the Primavera side and Milan Futuro, in two years, he never had a season as a regular starter in a professional league. Croatia is the first place where he might, and that is the only thing this deal really promises.
Sources: official AC Milan statement of 7 September 2026 on the permanent transfer of Demirel Hodzic to Istra 1961; FIGC official circular 235/A of 27 May 2026 on registration deadlines and rules for the 2026/2027 season; calendar of registration periods for players arriving from abroad published by the Croatian federation, updated 7 January 2026; the player’s encyclopaedic entry for personal details, height, youth career and Sweden youth caps. No club has declared a fee, and none is reported here as established fact.
Frequently asked questions
What deal did Milan do?
A permanent transfer: the club sold the registration rights of Demirel Hodzic to Nogometni klub Istra 1961. It is not a loan, and the player is not coming back.
When was it announced?
On 7 September 2026, in a statement on AC Milan's official website.
Why on 7 September?
Because it was the last day of the Croatian window for registering players arriving from abroad: the Croatian federation's calendar sets that period from 27 June to 7 September 2026.
Wasn't the Italian window shut from 1 September?
Yes, for deals between Italian clubs. But FIGC circular 235/A states that for transfers abroad the deadlines of the destination federation's windows apply.
Who is Demirel Hodzic?
A midfielder born in Lerum, Sweden, in March 2005, 1.94 m tall, with dual Swedish and Bosnian citizenship. He has played for Sweden at Under 19 and Under 21 level.
How had he joined Milan?
In August 2024, after youth football with IFK Göteborg and then Bologna. At Milan he played between the Primavera side and Milan Futuro.
Wasn't he on loan in Sweden?
Yes, at Örgryte IS in the Allsvenskan, where he played 7 games in 2026. The permanent move to Istra ends that loan early.
