Why Manchester United must go for Real Madrid flop Luka Jovic

Luka Jovic could be on the move from Real Madrid as Manchester United have been offered his services, as per Daily Mail. Although it would be a loan deal, Madrid manager Zidane is keen to let the striker leave, despite signing him just over a year ago.

Profile

Luka Jovic is a 22-year-old Serbian forward who plays for Real Madrid. He started his youth career at Red Star Belgrade in 2005 and progressed through the youth teams before making his debut in May 2014.

For the next two seasons, he went on to make 48 appearances, scoring 13 goals and 4 assists. He joined SL Benfica but due to his young age, he was sent to the youth team.

Eintracht Frankfurt secured his services in a 2-year loan deal. It was in Germany that Jovic showed his true goalscoring prowess. In the two seasons he played there, he made 75 appearances and scored 36 goals (source – Transfermarkt).

His loan move was made permanent before he was sold to Real Madrid. However, he is yet to reach the same heights as he did for Frankfurt due to a lot of factors. Jovic has been a regular feature for the Serbia youth teams and also has 7 senior caps to his name.

Should Manchester United take it?

While goals haven’t been a problem for Manchester United, it is the lack of squad depth that is a big issue. Aided by Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood have fired goals at will.

Now, when you look at their bench, it paints a grim picture. Odion Ighalo is their only backup striker and while he is half-decent, a club like Manchester United need someone better than that. They need someone who is going to keep the starters on their toes.

Though they are close to completing the signing of Edinson Cavani, it would do a club of Manchester United’s size no harm to rope in someone as young and talented as Luka Jovic, as it would give them an extra option to make use of when needed. If there’s anything that United’s 6-1 loss to Tottenham earlier taught us, it’s that they need better personnel in a lot of areas.

Hence, signing Luka Jovic would be a smart move by Manchester United indeed.

Verdict

Luka Jovic may be a bit out of touch with his goal-scoring but rest assured, he is a genuinely good striker. He showed that in Frankfurt very clearly. It was only Karim Benzema’s good form and Zidane’s reluctance that resulted in a rather difficult season for the Serbian.

His age is perfectly suited to the bracket of players that Manchester United have signed in recent times. Manchester United need a better alternative in the forward line, even if it’s on a temporary basis.

The club should take the chance to sign Jovic on loan as he would provide good competition to Anthony Martial and imminent arrival Edinson Cavani. Signing Jovic also opens up the avenue for Solskjaer to use Martial on the left wing and Marcus Rashford on the right.