Luka Jović, the »Suarez replacement«

Luka Jović, the Serbian centre forward is popping up in football headlines as one of the best young strikers, who caught a lot of attention of all the biggest clubs in Europe. As of now, he has already been linked with football giant Barcelona, who look to add his skills to the team. But who is Luka Jović, why is he considered one of the best at what he does, and could he really end up in Barcelona?

Luka Jović, born on December 23, 1997, in Bosnia and Herzegovina is a Serbian striker, and Benfica player, who is currently on a loan at German club Eintracht Frankfurt. He joined the club on July 1st, 2017 from Benfica on a loan with a possibility of a buyout at the end of the loan duration. Jović is to remain in Germany until June 30th, 2019, when his loan expires. After that, the German club will have a chance to sign the striker for mere £4million.

In the first season after arriving at Eintracht Frankfurt, Luka Jović already left a mark at his new team with 8 goals and 1 assist in 22 league games an. While those numbers were considered only decent for a player who arrived from Benfica B, where he scored only 2 goals in 11 games played in Portuguese 2nd division football, it was the 2018/19 season, when Luka Jović drastically improved and changed from a “decent player” into a star player. This season alone, Luka Jović scored 22 goals in 36 games for Eintracht Frankfurt in Bundesliga and Euro League combined. With 15 goals in Bundesliga, Luka Jović is the 2nd best striker, only trailing Robert Lewandowski (18 goals). On the other side, Jović is the 3rd best goal scorer in Europa League with 7 goals, which is only 2 less than the leader Oliver Giroud. Meanwhile, Jović has scored his debut goal for the Serbian national team in the friendly match against Germany (1-1).

But it’s not only the number of goals Luka Jović has scored. It’s the style, it’s his approach to games and his dramatic improvement from last season that made his stand out of all the other players. Not surprisingly this young Serbian striker is now considered as one of the biggest sensations in football, popping on the radar of numerous football giants, especially after his historic goal against Inter Milan in the 1/8 finals of Europa League, which knocked the Italians out from the competition and brought Eintracht Frankfurt into the quarterfinals. While there are several clubs showing their interest in Jović, there is one club that knocked on Eintracht Frankfurt door that stands out and is considered to be the frontrunners to land Jović signature this summer. That club is no other than Barcelona.

Luka Jović has been on the radar of Spanish champions for a while, however, the rumours of Barcelona being serious about signing him proved to be true after three important men from Camp Nou; Pep Segura, Eric Abidal, and Ramon Planes were spotted in Italy to watch the match between Inter and Eintracht Frankfurt. It’s no secret that Barcelona are looking for some fresh legs in their attack. Time is not stopping and their players are not getting any younger. That is especially true for their star striker Suarez, who blew out 32 candles on his cake in January and is well on his way to 33. While it would be hard to justify saying Suarez is getting any worse, it’s reasonable for Barcelona to look for some youngsters who could be their future stars.

But it’s not only Barcelona who saw potential in Jović, but it was also the Serbian national team manager and former footballer Mladen Krstajic, who had something to say about the young prospect. When asked what he thinks about Jović chances of playing in Barcelona, he responded with:

“All I can say is that of course, I wish him all the best and the greatest possible success, and it is clear that he has enormous potential. He can achieve great things.”

He added;

“I might compare him to Barcelona’s Luis Suarez. He is a classic goalscorer, with very good ball handling and a great understanding of the game. He is courageous and at any time dangerous because he is always lurking for his chance, and he can exploit the smallest mistake of his opponent.”

There is no denying Luka Jović is an exceptional striker who improved drastically this season. He is also without a doubt a key player in Eintracht Frankfurt and will be a great addition to any team that signs him. That is why it should not come off as a surprise, he has been approached by Manchester City, Chelsea and as mentioned Barcelona who will most likely be the one to sign the Serbian. But at this point, we need to think about what would that mean for Barcelona and most importantly Suarez. Suarez is approaching the twilight years of his career and if Jović ends up in the squad it will be interesting to see what the club decides to do with the Uruguayan player, who I am sure will not be too keen to play the second fiddle to a new signing.