Player Profile: Luke Jovic
By Matt Wright
It’s fair to say Luka Jovic’s move to Real Madrid from Eintracht Frankfurt in 2019 has not worked out for the Serbian striker, who was one of the most in-demand players in Europe at the time of his transfer.
A combination of injuries and having to compete for a place with players like Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior mean the 24-year-old has been restricted to 49 appearances for the 13-time European champions, with only 13 of these starts.
With this in mind, it is perfectly conceivable that Jovic may look to revitalise his career by seeking a move away from the Spanish capital this summer.
His age means his best years should still be ahead of him, while it also allows him to fit in with the young squad being developed at Arsenal by Mikel Arteta.
Here is all you need to know about him…
Background
Aged eight, Jovic was scouted by Red Star Belgrade and he rose through their ranks before making his debut in senior football against FK Vojvodina in May 2014 while still only 16 years old.
Two minutes in, he became the youngest scorer in the club’s history at the start of a 3-3 draw that secured Red Star the Serbian league title.
Jovic also became the youngest player to appear for Red Star in an ‘Eternal Derby’ against Partizan and he went on to score 13 goals in 48 appearances before being snapped up by Portuguese giants Benfica in February 2016.
However, he spent most of his time in Lisbon playing for their ‘B’ team, making only two first team appearances, and it took a two-year loan move to Eintracht Frankfurt for his career to take off.
Jovic scored nine goals in the 2017/18 season, but it was in the 2018/19 campaign where his form skyrocketed, not least when he became the youngest player to score five goals in a Bundesliga game, against Fortuna Dusseldorf.
It was in the Europa League where he really caught the eye, though, as he scored 10 goals during Eintracht’s run to the semi-finals, in which he scored in both legs against Chelsea before they were defeated on penalties.
His haul of 27 goals in all competitions brought attention from some of the biggest clubs in Europe and it was expected he would go on to bigger and better things when he signed for Real Madrid for £52.4 million the following summer.
It hasn’t worked out that way, with injuries preventing him from building momentum in La Liga before he was loaned back to Frankfurt in the second half of last season.
In the current campaign, Jovic has actually scored more goals for his country than his club, with his only strike for Madrid coming against Real Sociedad in December.
What does he offer?
Although he has not been able to show his worth in Madrid, Jovic, who has scored seven goals in 20 caps for Serbia, has displayed a natural finishing ability during his career so far.
His breakthrough campaign with Eintracht Frankfurt saw him come up with a variety of ways to find the net, shooting with either foot while also being an aerial threat.
The latter attribute is impressive in that Jovic is not the tallest nor appears the most powerful, but his apparent knack of finding space and knowing where the ball is going to drop has given him an edge in the past.
Jovic has shown that he can work well with a partner, as shown during his time in Germany with Sebastien Haller, although it remains to be seen whether he can lead the line effectively as a sole striker.
The worries are that it is already three seasons since he grabbed everyone’s attention and that his succession of injuries may have negated some of the sharpness he has previously displayed.
Would Arsenal be interested?
We don’t know which competition it will be in yet, but Arsenal are increasingly certain to be making a return to Europe next season.
The increase in fixtures this will bring means Mikel Arteta will need to add depth to his squad in attack, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang gone and Eddie Nketiah yet to convince that he can provide consistent cover for Alexandre Lacazette.
As Martin Odegaard has shown, it is possible to bounce back from not making the grade at Real Madrid, so the hope lightning could strike twice in that regard makes Jovic an interesting potential target.
However, those aforementioned injuries that have blighted him in the last two-and-a-half seasons mean he might not be relied upon to stay fit through the majority of a campaign.
Jovic has shown he has the ability to mix it with the best in the past, but with three years still left on his contract in Madrid, he may not be worth the risk at this stage.
