Even though it was far from the revolution many were probably expecting to see, Real Madrid’s 2019 summer transfer window was still extremely busy, to say the least.
Florentino Perez decided to shift many names and then rejuvenate the squad with some young and talented players from abroad.
The likes of Rodrygo, Ferland Mendy and Eder Militao joined the team in what seemed like a serious piece of business. Of course, we mustn’t forget the biggest scoop of them all, Eden Hazard, who was Zinedine Zidane’s Galactico purchase.
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But one player managed to get many excited despite his young age. Luka Jovic, the 21-year-old Serbian forward, was destined to become football’s next big striker.
After all, his spell with Eintracht Frankfurt not only suggested as much but it also turned the gaze of many European giants towards him.
In the end, he decided to don the white kit of Los Blancos in a move that reportedly cost “papa Perez” around £53.2m without certain add-ons which could bump the price even higher in the future.
If there’s any future for the young Serbian in the Spanish capital at all, that is.
It really did seem like a brilliant piece of news for all the Madridistas and the club in general at the very beginning.
After all, Karim Benzema, their star striker at the club is already 31 years of age and not getting any younger, Cristiano Ronaldo is long gone and other than them, the Whites don’t really have a prolific goalscorer in their ranks.
At least they didn’t have one until Jovic joined them last summer.
In his last season in Germany, he really blossomed into an elite finisher.
The 2018/19 season was the peak of his young career as the Serbian managed to net 27 goals and assist seven more in the 48 games he played for Eintracht Frankfurt across all competitions.
Not to mention that he tallied ten goals in 14 Europa League appearances, proving he can tango with the best of them in big games on big stages as well.
Overall, he recorded 36 goals and assisted nine in 75 games for the German team, almost managing a goal every second game.
By all standards, and especially when adding his age into the equation, that was a rather impressive detail to put into his CV at the end of the day.
But a move to Real Madrid might have arrived just a bit too early. That or he simply ended up being a victim of the Galacticos’ poor planning and even poorer transfer policy.
Of course, scooping up young talent before your rivals do is nothing particularly new in the modern days of football, but allowing that talent to go to waste while sitting on the bench is still bad decision-making.
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Since his arrival at the club and the start of the new campaign, Jovic has played in a total of seven games, which doesn’t seem as bad at first but he was in the starting XI only twice, tallying just 218 minutes across all competitions.
And since we’re talking about a young player who needs time to adjust and develop, that is still not really a cause for alarm.
What is concerning, though, is the club’s reported plans in the upcoming transfer windows.
It seems that Real Madrid are on a hunt for a new striker and not only that, Benzema might be getting a brand new contract pretty soon, if reports from El Chiringuito are anything to go by.
So far, the Galacticos have been linked with both Harry Kane and Lautaro Martinez, who look like good replacements for the 31-year-old Frenchman.
But the arrival of either of those two could spell even more trouble for Jovic, who is struggling for minutes as it is.
More competition could starve him of game time entirely, especially if someone of Kane’s stature was to arrive in the capital.
This puts their whole transfer policy into question because it places the decision to bring Jovic into the club under the microscope. Why scoop a young player in need of minutes only to chain him to the bench and then bring other stars to fill his position in the future?
Not to mention that he’s not exactly the only player who might suffer a similar fate in the capital but his case might be the worst one, highlights these policy problems the most.
A move to Real Madrid might’ve seemed like a dream back then but if something doesn’t change quickly, this dream could certainly turn into a nightmare for the young Serbian.
And the worst thing is, it would be through no fault of his as he was never actually given a proper chance to show what he can do.
Of course, it is still early in his Real Madrid career but Zidane has to make sure that his time in the capital doesn’t stagnate before it’s been given a chance to take off.
That would definitely be a shame for all parties involved.