Five possible destinations for Luka Jovic

The Serbian striker had a forgettable season at Real Madrid and may look to start a fresh.

Luka Jovic took the world of football by storm when he signed for Real Madrid just ahead of the 2019-20 season. The 22-year-old first announced himself to the big leagues by virtue of his brilliant performances for the Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt in the two seasons before joining Los Blancos.

Joining Real Madrid was undoubtedly a dream move for Luka Jovic, who was touted to be Karim Benzema's successor at the La Liga outfit. His problems off the field - such as flouting lockdown rules and risking prison sentence to meet his girlfriend, and falling off a high wall and breaking his foot - further resulted in him earning the displeasure of the club, so much that according to multiple sources, they are interested in parting ways with him or at least sending him for a loan stint.

Luka Jovic now has a choice in front of him - leave Los Blancos and accept that it was simply a bad passing phase of his career or make amends for his situation by working extra hard and regaining Zidane's trust next season. Meanwhile, we take a look at five possible destinations for the player, should he choose to leave the reigning LaLiga champions this summer.

West Ham United

West Ham United failed to impress in the Premier League in the 2019-20 season. At just five points above the relegation zone, however, it seems that they have done enough to stay afloat in the English top-flight.

The Hammers lost 19 of their 38 matches in the league this season, and registered only 10 wins. Their most important win came against fourth-placed Chelsea earlier last month, and it goes on to prove that a good signing in attack can help the club do wonders next season. West Ham's fans have been demanding their club to sell Felipe Anderson. If Luka Jovic can join the club and partner Grady Diangana in attack, they may be able to link up well and increase the team's goal-scoring opportunities.

Sebastian Haller - who was Jovic's former teammate at Frankfurt - also happens to be with the London outfit at the moment, and that could be an additional incentive for the Serbian to join them.

Napoli

It has already been widely reported that Serie A giants Napoli are keen on signing Jovic. The 33-year-old Dries Mertens and Arkadiusz Milik, who has been linked with a move away from the club, are two of Napoli's primary options in attack right now. With 21-year-old Victor Osimhen also joining them next season, the availability of Jovic would add more firepower to their attack.

Napoli manager Gennaro Gattuso is known for his grit, tenacity and work ethic. Someone like Jovic could benefit very well by playing under the Italian, as he will make sure that all his players work extra hard to remain in contention for the starting XI. If Milik prefers to leave the club, Jovic can be brought in as his successor.

AS Monaco

AS Monaco won the Ligue 1 title in 2016-17, but since then, they have been on a downward spiral with regards to performance in both domestic and European competitions. In 2018-19, they finished the league at a shocking 17th place and in the recently-concluded 2019-20 season, they were able to finish within the top half of the table but were still 28 points below winners PSG.

Wissam Ben Yedder and Stevan Jovetic are the first-choice strikers at Les Monegasques currently, while Pietro Pellegri and Lyle Foster are the options available. It is safe to assume that Jovetic is no longer in his prime, having served Manchester City, Sevilla and Inter Milan during his best years. This is where Jovic comes in handy, as the Serbian forward can replace the 30-year-old well, and may even be able to pull off a strong partnership with Ben Yedder, who joined the club less than a year ago.

Leicester City

Leicester City had an impressive campaign in the 2019-20 season, finishing at fifth place in the Premier League and qualifying for next season's Europa League. They are no longer considered as a small club in England - and the likes of Jamie Vardy, James Maddison, Wilfred Ndidi, Ben Chilwell, Ricardo Pereira, Caglar Soyuncu and Kasper Schmeichel together form a star-studded lineup at the King Power stadium.

However - although the Foxes have capable players in midfield and defense - their attack is not as potent as it should be. Golden Boot winner Vardy is the only man in goal-scoring form right now, and the club could hence benefit greatly from another solid signing in attack. The fact that the club qualified for the Europa League next season should also boost their chances of signing him this summer.

AC Milan

According to sources from Italy, AC Milan are one of the two Serie A teams who have made a concrete offer for Jovic so far. The Rossoneri have been widely tipped to sign a prolific centre-forward in the summer window, so as to boost their chances of finishing within the top-four in the Italian top-flight next season.

Previously, it looked as if the new signing would be a replacement for Zlatan Ibrahimovic - but now it seems that the Swede looks set to say after an impressive six-month stint following his return to the San Siro earlier this year. The club is hence looking for a deputy to the 38-year-old, and Jovic could fit the description well.

Although the Serbian did well at Frankfurt, he could not rise up to the occasion in Real Madrid where he was slotted into the team along with several world-class stars. Getting under the tutelage of the one and only Zlatan would be a much-needed lesson for the youngster on how to cope with pressure and how to work with big names, among other things.

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