Leicester linked with a January move for Luka Jovic – Should they sign him?
According to Mirror (h/t Leicestershire Live), Luka Jovic of Real Madrid has been identified as a target by Leicester. The striker has not enjoyed the best of starts to his career in Spain and the club are looking to cut their costs. Along with Leicester, West Ham are also said to be interested in the frontman.
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 ranks 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 8 senior caps and 2 goals to his name.
Should Leicester sign him?
While goals haven’t been a problem for the Foxes, it is the lack of squad depth that is a big issue. Aided by a creative midfield of James Maddison and Youri Tielemans, Jamie Vardy has fired goals at will.
When one looks at their bench, it paints a grim picture. Kelechi Iheanacho and Islam Slimani are their only backup strikers and while Iheanacho is half-decent, Slimani has not kicked a ball for the club in ages. They need someone who is going to keep the starters on their toes.
More than anything, they need a player who can replace Vardy in the long-term. Sure, the 33-year-old shows no signs of slowing down but his age is eventually going to catch up and that would put Leicester in a spot of bother.
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.
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His age is perfectly suited to take over from Vardy in a season or two. Leicester need a better alternative in the forward line than Iheanacho and Slimani. The club should take the chance to sign Jovic as he would provide good competition to Vardy and likely take his place in the near future.
