# Dimitar Mitov

Dimitar Veselinov Mitov (Bulgarian: Димитър Веселинов Митов; born 22 January 1997) is a Bulgarian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Scottish Premiership club Aberdeen and the Bulgaria national team.

## Club career
### Early career in Bulgaria

Born in Montana, Mitov spent part of his childhood in Kozloduy, where he began training football at the age of nine. Initially, he was deployed as an outfield player. After a short stint with Dunav Selanovtsi, in 2009, at age 12, he had a successful tryout with Hristo Stoichkov's academy and joined the ranks of Chavdar Etropole.

### Charlton Athletic

Mitov joined Charlton Athletic in 2013 from Bulgarian club Chavdar Etropole, after undergoing a trial at Nottingham Forest. In April 2015, he scored a goal from his own six-yard box against Coventry City U18's, gaining press attention. He featured for the club at under-18, under-21 and under-23 level but did not make a senior appearance for the club.

#### Canvey Island (loan)

In February 2015, Mitov joined Isthmian League Premier Division club Canvey Island on a one-month loan. He made a single appearance in a 1–1 draw with Lewes on 28 February 2015.

### Cambridge United

Following his release from Charlton Athletic, Mitov joined League Two club Cambridge United on a two-year contract. On 8 August 2017, he made his debut in a 4–1 EFL Cup defeat to Bristol Rovers. Mitov's first league appearances for Cambridge came in the final three games of the 2017–18 season, playing against Morecambe, Newport County and Port Vale.
On 16 May 2018, he extended his contract with Cambridge United. The contract kept him at the club until 2021 and was subsequently extended. During the 2018–19 season, Mitov replaced David Forde as the first choice goalkeeper: he went on to make a total amount of 21 league appearances in total over the season.
During the 2020–21 season, Mitov made 20 league appearances as United gained promotion to League One.
On 23 August 2021, Mitov won Carabao Cup First Round Player of the Round for his outstanding performance in a match against Swindon Town, which the U’s won on penalties. On 8 January 2022, he gained attention for his performance after his team caused a monumental cup upset by beating Newcastle United 1–0 at St James’ Park in the third round of the FA Cup, making numerous saves to keep them in the game. United ended the season 14th in the League One table. On 30 April 2022, Mitov was named United’s Player of the Season.
At the end of the 2022–23 season, Mitov left United following the expiration of his contract, after helping the U’s dramatically stay up in League One on the final day, following a 2–0 win over Forest Green, leaving after 6 years and 146 appearences at the club.

### St Johnstone

On 14 July 2023, Mitov joined Scottish Premiership club St Johnstone on a two-year contract. On 26 August, he kept his first clean sheet of the season in a goalless league draw against Celtic. Mitov helped keep up St Johnstone on the final day of the season, saving a crucial penalty in a 2–1 defeat of Motherwell. He subsequently won all but one of the club’s Player of the Season awards.

### Aberdeen

On 19 June 2024, Mitov signed for fellow Scottish Premiership club Aberdeen on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee. According to Mitov, he chose to move to Aberdeen because of the club's "huge history". He made an instant impact at the club, saving a penalty in a 1–0 win over Ross County. Mitov heavily contributed to an early 13-match winning streak for the Dons under new manager Jimmy Thelin. On 09 November 2024, he saved yet another penalty in a 4-1 win over Dundee. On 1 December 2024, he suffered a long-term hamstring injury against Hearts in the 46th minute, and was replaced by Ross Doohan.

## International career

Mitov has represented Bulgaria at every age level from under-16 to under-19. He also captained his nation at under-17 and under-19 level.
In August 2023, he received his first call-up to the Bulgarian senior national team by head coach Mladen Krstajić, for a friendly game against Iran and a UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying game against Montenegro. On 7 September 2023, Mitov earned his first cap, playing the full 90 minutes in the 0-1 loss against the former. He has since taken over the number 1 shirt from the likes of Daniel Naumov and Ivan Dyulgerov. He kept his first international clean sheet in a 1–0 win over Tanzania in March 2024, and played every single game of the 2024 Nations League group stage for Bulgaria.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of match played 1 January 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | National Cup | National Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Charlton Athletic | 2014–15 | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Charlton Athletic | 2015–16 | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Charlton Athletic | 2016–17 | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Charlton Athletic | Total | Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Canvey Island (loan) | 2014–15 | Isthmian League Premier Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Cambridge United | 2017–18 | League Two | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Cambridge United | 2018–19 | League Two | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 25 | 0 |
| Cambridge United | 2019–20 | League Two | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 0 |
| Cambridge United | 2020–21 | League Two | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0 |
| Cambridge United | 2021–22 | League One | 42 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 51 | 0 |
| Cambridge United | 2022–23 | League One | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 0 |
| Cambridge United | Total | Total | 146 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 165 | 0 |
| St Johnstone | 2023–24 | Scottish Premiership | 38 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 0 |
| Aberdeen | 2024–25 | Scottish Premiership | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 201 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 229 | 0 |

### International

    As of match played 18 November 2024
Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Bulgaria | 2023 | 2 | 0 |
| Bulgaria | 2024 | 7 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 9 | 0 |

## Honours

Individual
* Cambridge United Player of the Year: 2021–22
* St Johnstone Players' Player of the Year: 2023–24
* St Johnstone Jailer Tours’ Player of the Year: 2023–24