N. Penev

Nikolas Penev plays for a club where his father is the head coach. Lyuboslav Penev, the former Bulgaria international, took charge of Lokomotiv Sofia in 2026. He never played for the club himself, having represented Lokomotiv Plovdiv. The son, a right-footed forward who can also play on the wing, joined later the same year.

Nikolas did not come through the Lokomotiv Sofia academy. His youth football was spread across several clubs: Valencia CF, Septemvri Sofia, CSKA Sofia, Botev Plovdiv, where he stayed until 2022, and CSKA 1948. He was born in Sofia and is Bulgarian.

His senior career has involved a lot of moving. It began in 2022 with the third team of CSKA 1948, and he then spent time with the reserves of Septemvri Sofia. Hebar Pazardzhik followed in 2023, and he stayed there into 2024. That year he also played for Lokomotiv Plovdiv, before a spell at Pirin Blagoevgrad in 2025.

The move to the senior CSKA Sofia squad came in 2026. He began that year with CSKA Sofia's third team, and by the end of it he was in the first-team group before leaving for Lokomotiv Sofia.

He has also played for Bulgaria at youth level. In 2024 he won a cap for the under-20 side, and he has appeared in friendlies for the under-21s.