Carlo Ancelotti had some bad news to deliver ahead of Monday’s La Liga clash between Real Madrid and Mallorca.
With only one first-team player unavailable – Eder Militao came down with a cold in the build up to the game – the Blancos boss had to choose one player to leave out of his 23-man squad.
Would it be Jesus Vallejo, the seldom-seen centre-back? With Militao out of contention, Vallejo was a must. Some much-needed defensive back-up.
What about Isco or Gareth Bale, a pair of lesser-spotted Galacticos who’ve started just seven La Liga matches between them in 2021/22? Or Mariano Diaz, the eternal benchwarmer?
In the end, Luka Jovic was the odd one out. Lingering awkwardly in the corner, like a weeping child knocked out in the first round of Musical Chairs.
Is Luka Jovic leaving Real Madrid?
The luckless, £52 million misfit has not been included in Ancelotti’s XI for any of Real Madrid’s 28 league matches this term.
Even when the talismanic Karim Benzema was unavailable with a hamstring injury in February, Ancelotti opted to field Isco and Bale as false nines rather than call upon Jovic.
And, as Real Madrid extended their lead at the top of the table with a 3-0 win in Mallorca, it was difficult to shake the feeling that this was something of a rock-bottom moment for a striker who was expected to make a big impact at the Bernabeu following his 27-goal season at Eintracht Frankfurt in 2018/19.
As Madrid-based publication Defensa Central point out; ‘(Ancelotti’s decision) will not have sat very well with Jovic, who has been overtaken by several players that perhaps he did not expect’.
From Spain to the Premier League?
It looks increasingly likely that Jovic’s future lies away from the Spanish capital. Atalanta are keen. Everton made an approach in January, per Fabrizio Romano.
Arsenal, meanwhile, see the Serbian international as someone capable of filling a Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang-shaped hole in a frontline that could also lose both Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah in the summer (Athletic).
Since the transfer window closed some six weeks ago, Jovic has played just 41 minutes of football. This hardly a novel situation. He got used to life on the Real Madrid bench some time ago.
But being left out of the squad entirely? This is a new development, and not a particularly nice one.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
