Mladin Milinkovic managed Adzic during the 2023-24 season at Buducnost, when the attacking midfielder made 29 appearances and scored seven goals with four assists, his best return before his move to Italy.
Speaking to TMW two days after Adzic's 94th-minute winner secured Sassuolo a 3-2 victory over his parent club, Milinkovic reflected on the qualities that marked the Montenegrin out even as a teenager.
"He was a boy with a huge desire to improve," Milinkovic said. "In training he always gave everything, just as he did in matches, but what struck me most was that he was never satisfied. Even when training had finished, he often wanted to stay behind and keep working.
"He wanted to do something more. For such a young player, only 17 at the time, that was a very important trait. And he had an unusual maturity, beyond what you'd normally expect from someone his age."
Milinkovic said he always believed Adzic was capable of making an impact at Sassuolo, and backed him to surpass his best season in Montenegro.
"Yes, I believed it. He's already scored three goals and one assist in just five matches, so I hope he can reach double figures already this season and beat the record of seven goals he set with me," he said.
Asked whether Juventus were already regretting letting Adzic leave on loan following his latest decisive goal against them, Milinkovic was diplomatic, deferring to the player's current coach at Juventus, Luciano Spalletti, on team selection matters, while backing the 20-year-old's long-term prospects.
"I think his coach Luciano Spalletti knows better than anyone whether Adzic already deserved to play for Juventus," Milinkovic said. "If he keeps working and playing like this, I'm sure Vasilije will become an important player in the future. For Juventus and beyond."
Adzic joined Juventus from Buducnost in 2024 for a fee in the region of €7 million, and has struggled for regular game time in Turin, making just 16 appearances for the first team. His loan move to Sassuolo this season has already yielded three goals in five appearances, with his stoppage-time winner against Juventus arriving exactly a year after he scored a dramatic late winner for the Bianconeri against Inter Milan in the same fixture slot on the calendar.