 Novaković was Köln's top scorer in three of the club's four Bundesliga seasons, during his spell at the club, scoring 44 goals in 108 appearances.After finishing the next season on 17th place Köln was relegated and during the summer of 2012 the club officials decided to cut costs of the first team before the start of the season in the second tier.Novaković was one of the players whose contract expenses were too high and on 1 August 2012, he joined J1 League side Omiya Ardija, on loan until December 2012.