Should Barcelona be interested in Eintracht Frankfurt’s Luka Jovic?

The Serbian wonderkid has lit up the Bundesliga in his second season at Eintracht Frankfurt.

There are a number of talented young strikers in Europe currently such as Krzysztof Piatek and Kylian Mbappe who have deservedly received a lot of attention in recent months due to their exploits. However, this has naturally led to others going under the radar in some respects, but Luka Jovic made sure his name reverberated around Europe as he scored five goals against Fortuna Dusseldorf in October.

The 20-year-old is having an excellent campaign with Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga. Nine goals and three assists in 559 league minutes is a ridiculous return for such a young player, and his goalscoring form looks sustainable because he averages 0.81 xG per 90 minutes as well as a high shot volume of 4.80 per game, according to Understat. He’s also carried this form into Europe with three goals in 175 Europa League minutes.

Last season, he gradually worked his way into Niko Kovac’s side after arriving on a two-year loan from Benfica, which the German club reportedly have an option to make permanent. He finished with nine goals in all competitions, but he appears to have improved significantly over the summer and has quickly moved from being on the bench to a starter during Adi Hutter’s brief tenure. The Austrian manager moved there from Young Boys in the summer after securing them their first league title in over 30 years and his new side currently sit in fourth place.

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Hutter started with a 3-4-3 then 4-2-3-1 formation but has since switched to a 3-5-2 or slight variations of that, which has brought success with no losses since then. This set-up allows him to play Jovic, Sebastien Haller and Ante Rebic together, with the Croatian in a free role just behind. As a team, they are overperforming xG by 6.99 and Jovic is part of that with an xG of 5.06 compared to his nine goals, per Understat. However, as mentioned above he is getting plenty of service and is capable of sustaining an excellent goal return even if it reduces from his current high amount.

Jovic is capable of holding up play as an outlet to play others in and provide layoffs in the final third, but he is equally able to make well-timed runs in behind against high defensive lines. He is especially gifted at receiving the ball well, which is a skill La Masia graduates are usually experts at; Jovic often manipulates his body position to create an opportune angle even if he has his back turned to goal, which can be seen in the video below when he makes it 5-1.

His innovation in front of goal is also a useful trait as shown for his first goal in the video above because he manages to adjust his body to make best use of the cross even though it is slightly behind him. The power and precision of his shots make him a deadly finisher in and around the box. He is also capable of linking up well with others through his quick footwork, which is a key aspect for a striker in Barcelona’s system.

The Serbian’s development has been promising so far, however, the relatively small sample size of his career in the top European leagues goes against him. Barcelona should be scouting him at the very least, though, especially if he manages to maintain numbers similar to his current rate.

Buying a young striker is always risky, but Jovic looks like a top prospect and his varied skillset means he is unlikely to be a one-dimensional threat. The main issue with him is whether he could play out wide occasionally so Lionel Messi could play centrally as well as whether he is able to be part of a fluid front three. A strong season from Jovic is likely to see him rewarded with a move to a top European club, but it remains to be seen whether that will be Barcelona.