Luka Jovic: What they say about Real Madrid's new striker
Real Madrid on Tuesday confirmed the signing of Serbia striker Luka Jovic from Eintracht Frankfurt for a fee reported to be €60million.
Jovic became one of Europe's most in-demand players after scoring 17 Bundesliga goals and a further 10 in Eintracht's run to the semi-finals of the Europa League in 2018-19.
The Bundesliga club have made a massive profit on the 21-year-old as they only trigged a purchase option in his loan deal from Benfica for a reported €6m in April.
He certainly comes highly recommended by those who know him best.
Milos Ninkovic - Jovic's former team-mate at Red Star Belgrade
"He is such a nice guy. [At] 16 years old, to play for such a big club in Serbia is unbelievable," Ninkovic, who now plays for A-League side Sydney FC, told Omnisport as he reflected on Jovic's memorable debut.
"Back then when I watched him and talked to him, I said, 'Look, you're an unbelievable talent. You just need to work hard. If you do this, you'll probably have a big career'.
"As soon as he came into the first team and I saw him, I knew he was a special talent. If he worked hard and focused on just the pitch – nothing on the outside – he would have a big, big career."
¡Luka Jović = GOLAZOS!#WelcomeJovic | #HalaMadrid pic.twitter.com/t1MuPEZrkn
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) June 4, 2019
Savo Milosevic - Former Serbia striker, who hails from the same city – Bijeljina
"Luka is very, very, very special. His capacity for scoring goals is incredible," Milosevic – now head coach of Serbian side Partizan Belgrade – told Omnisport.
"From any position and with any part of the body, he simply senses the goal. He is a natural-born killer.
"You cannot train some of those things. You have them or not. He will be one of the best strikers in the world in a few years, I have no doubt about it.
"He is still a kid. He is showing some incredible things.
"He would be great for Barca or Madrid. It would be a good solution for either of those two clubs."
Felix Magath - Former Eintracht head coach
"Luka Jovic scored both in the Bundesliga and Europa League on a very consistent basis all season long," Magath told Omnisport.
"For me there is no doubt that a player like him can be even more deadly in front of the goal playing for Real Madrid or Barcelona, where his team-mates surely would provide even more chances."