Seven years after leaving Serbian giants Crvena Zvezda, Luka Jović could return to the club. Transfer expert Nicolò Schira reported today that the club has enquired about a move for the Fiorentina striker.
Jović broke into the Crvena Zvezda’s first team as a teenager, making 48 appearances. In January 2016, Cypriot side Apollon Limassol, who already owned a part of his contract, bought him before instantly selling him on to Portuguese talent developers Benfica.
However, Jović had off-the-field problems. Some questioned his effort in training, while his diet was far from perfect. He wasn’t particularly popular in Benfica, and, after struggling for minutes in his 18 months in Portugal, he left the club.
He signed for German side Eintracht Frankfurt on a two-year loan with an option to buy and instantly saw improved results. In his first year in the Bundesliga, he scored eight goals and assisted one in just nine starts. This was enough to earn a call-up for the 2018 World Cup, where he came off the bench in Serbia’s final match.
The major turning point for Jović was in October of 2018 against Fortuna Düsseldorf — when the 20-year-old bagged an impressive five goals in one match. From then on, the Serbian striker was unstoppable, scoring 17 goals in the Bundesliga and ten more in Europa League as Eintracht reached the semifinals (including a crucial strike against Benfica).
Jović was one of the most sought-after players in the world, and, despite having just made his move to Frankfurt permanent, he joined Real Madrid in the summer of 2019. However, injuries and poor form prevented a breakthrough to Madrid’s starting eleven and it didn’t help when he broke coronavirus protocol in March 2020.
One year later, Jović returned to Eintracht on loan. It looked like he would regain his form when he scored a brace against Schalke on his return, but that was one of few highlights. By the end of the season, he had just four goals, and he returned to Spain.
The striker spent one more unsuccessful season in Madrid, scoring just one goal. In total, Real Madrid spent €63.00 million for three goals in 51 games. They also made a loss of €63.00 million, letting him join Serie A club Fiorentina for free.
Jović had a decent but unremarkable year, scoring 13 goals in 50 games. However, his Fiorentina career might already be — Jović has been loosely linked with Olympiacos and Galatasaray recently, and now Crvena Zvezda appears to be interested. Familiarity might be just what he needs.
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Image Courtesy of Oleg Bkhambri (Voltmetro), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
