Any criticism of Luka Jovic at Real Madrid must be taken with a hearty slice of context and a sizeable side dish of reasoning.
Yes, three La Liga goals in nearly three seasons is hardly a good look for a striker who cost £52 million. But Jovic has only started six games in that time.
Better centre-forwards than him would have struggled to overcome arguably the most complete number nine in the game right now; a certain Karim Benzema.
And history is littered with examples of players who escaped the Bernabeu bowl to become rather big fish in different ponds. Wesley Sneijder, for instance. Achraf Hakimi, Arjen Robben, Martin Odegaard, Theo Hernandez, Mateo Kovacic, Marcos Llorente.
Who’s to say Jovic, scorer of 27 goals in his final season at Eintracht Frankfurt, cannot rediscover that golden touch elsewhere? Remember, it’s not long since he was being discussed in similarly glowing terms to that of Dusan Vlahovic today.
Everton remain keen, despite failing with a bid on the final day of the January window (Fabrizio Romano). An Arsenal side under pressure to replace the goals of the departed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang have held talks recently too (Marca).
But while Jovic is certainly worth a punt, if his staggering form at Frankfurt is anything to go by, it’s worth asking why he’s been relegated to the fringes of Ancelotti’s squad.
Is Luka Jovic finally leaving Real Madrid?
Even when Benzema was unavailable through injury recently, the former Toffees boss opted to field the out-of-favour Isco and Gareth Bale as false nines rather than put his faith in Jovic.
The 24-year-old was left out of the 23-man squad for Real Madrid’s 3-0 win at Mallorca last week too. A squad that included fellow benchwarmer Mariano Diaz included.
Furthermore, there are concerns about his defensive work-rate, his off-field discipline and even a return to the Commerzbank Arena failed to revive Jovic’s ailing career (Athletic). He scored just four times in 18 games on loan back at Frankfurt last season.
Everton’s squad is chock-full of players who arrived after falling out of favour at bigger clubs. See Andre Gomes, Allan, Alex Iwobi, Dele Alli, Donny Van de Beek. And look where that’s got them.
There is no doubting Jovic’s talent and potential. Real Madrid don’t part with £50 million for nothing after all.
But, after seeing so many underperforming, overpaid misfits pass through the doors of Goodison Park, could you really blame Everton supporters for looking at Jovic with suspicion?
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