:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/63898662/1148052485.jpg.0.jpg)
Playing against Chelsea, as well as Inter Milan, in the Europa League have convinced Luka Jović of one thing: that he must sign for Chelsea — oops how did that get in there — a more physical league is better suited for him. And so he’s eyeing the Premier League or Serie A, rather than the friendlier pitches of, say, Spain.
“From my experience in the Europa League, I would say that some other leagues in Europe are more suited to me and my way of playing football. In terms of the physique, the Bundesliga is very demanding, but after the games against Chelsea or Inter Milan, I personally had the feeling that I could feel even better [playing] in the Premier League or Serie A. The way the teams play there suits me better.”
That sort of talk should be music to our ears, although at the moment it’s being drowned out by the cacophony utter silence of a transfer ban. And unfortunately, it would appear that Chelsea are at least seriously considering the possibility of just taking the punishment on the chin, CAS appeal notwithstanding, which would rule out any sort of move for the 21-year-old highly coveted Eintracht Frankfurt striker.
And that could be unfortunate, especially if he leaves this summer for some other team, like he was strongly rumored to be doing so. Fortunately, the Real Madrid rumors appear to have been premature, at least for now, and they certainly don’t want to get caught up in a bidding war, not with others big names on their shortlist, including first and foremost our very own Eden Hazard and possibly Kylian Mbappé as well.
El Real Madrid no consentirá subastas por el fichaje de Jovic https://t.co/SOgWxBNiYS Por @jfelixdiaz
— MARCA (@marca) May 25, 2019
Whether Madrid are truly off the table or not, or just how realistic the Barcelona rumors may or may not be — neither play in the aforementioned two leagues, but would any player truly be able to reject them if they come calling? — there seems to an opportunity to go get the kid.
Jović doesn’t rule out staying in Frankfurt for another season, but it’s not necessarily his preferred choice either.
“I haven’t bothered with the speculation. Believe me, it was important for me to be there for Eintracht. I didn’t want people to say that my head was somewhere else.
”My future is open. I will sit down and discuss it with my agent in the coming days. I want to take further steps in my career. I am looking forward to testing my level against the best players in the world.”
Chelsea’s transfer ban situation remains unclear, at best. One of the reasons floated for why we would be so willing to accept this punishment is that perhaps our top targets are not available this summer. But for the right price — €100m? — Jović looks gettable.
(NB. Theoretically we could sign then loan out Jović or any player for the duration of the ban — just like Atlético did with Vitolo in 2017, but that would be quite risky.)