Failed attempts to land Mehdi Taremi and Patson Daka led Milan to take a flyer on Luka Jovic who is searching to rekindle past Frankfurt form.
It was a very active summer season for Milan to say the least, severing ties with Paolo Maldini and Ricky Massara while also making the rash decision to sell club favorite Sandro Tonali to effectively fund the incoming market.
After the Italian midfielder was sold to the ambitious Newcastle United for a fee in excess of €70 million, new CEO Giorgio Furlani and chief scout Geoffrey Moncada sprung into action, adding a slew of fresh talent to pull off a necessary squad revamp.
The general view is the sacrifice of an integral component like Tonali, though met with much resistance and angst, was perhaps necessary if the Rossoneri were to adequately add the depth to elevate the sporting project.
However, amidst all of the signings made, the area of paramount important to address was the striker department. Olivier Giroud rejected Saudi temptations to remain as a reference point up front after Zlatan
Ibrahimovic retired. Flop signing Divock Origi was phased out all summer and younger talents like Marko Lazetic and Lorenzo Colombo are unproven to deputize the Frenchman.
In the last days of the market, Milan made concerted efforts to add a striker. After failed attempts to bring in established Iranian Mehdi Taremi from Porto and Patson Daka on loan, Fiorentina’s Luka Jovic emerged as the eventual consolation on the final day of the window.
The Serbian arrived on a permanent basis from the the Viola with a contract until 2024 and an option to extend for a further two years.
Jovic is a well-traveled forward at 25, with a body of work that spans several top leagues with clubs like Benfica, Frankfurt, Real Madrid and his most recent the Firenze club.
Experiencing varying levels of success, it is his foray into German football where he excelled the most, appearing 75 times and scoring 36 goals.
It was his final season at Frankfurt where his 27 goals and 6 assists earned him a whopping €60 million transfer to the Bernabeu, in hindsight, a platform he was not ready for.
Failing to take flight for Los Blancos, he’s far removed from his not so distant successes in the 2018/19 Bundesliga season. Now, that becomes the form he aspires to reclaim.
The question now is: what can be expected of the Serbian in red and black?
Jovic is cut more from the traditional cloth as far as striker moulds are concerned.
The Serb likes the confines of the final third and penalty area where he can position himself for a go on net and show off his finishing.
Unlike the Frenchman though, Jovic isn’t exactly the type to drop into the midfield, win the aerial battle for the ball, or receive and then distribute.
In this side however, there are plenty of runners to support and if he can be adequate in this department then Milan’s attacking transitions should remain fluid.
Physically, Jovic’s aggressive, agile profile does help him compensate for his limited size.
Measuring at just under 6 feet, it is more his good work rate and driven approach to winning battles in the box that would see him contribute goals rather than posing as an aerial threat. The expectation isn’t for Jovic to be the target man here though, rather the type of striker who can receive the ball, turn into space and create a window for himself to score.
While he may not have experienced the strongest league form last year at the Franchi, he did manage 6 goals and 3 assists from just north of 1,500 minutes. Even his tally of 6 goals in 647 UEFA Conference League minutes lends a bit of hope that the eye for the net can be re-established as well in meaningful matches.
Then there is his catalog of strikes against Inter which should excite the Milan faithful knowing he has a knack for tormenting their hated rival.
It will be hard to project how well Jovic will do in a Milan shirt given the competition of Olivier Giroud and Noah Okafor. What we do know is the robust forward has obvious, yet unfulfilled, talent.
As revealed by Bobo Vieri on his show Bobo TV, Jovic’s former teammate Riccardo Sottil was disappointed to see him depart.
“Everyone in Firenze is sorry to see Luka’s farewell. I was having dinner in the same restaurant as Sottil and he said that he is a very strong player,” explained Vieri.
There is little risk to this move for Milan. The club can simply allow him to walk free next summer without much of a loss at all, or he recaptures form and they have found themselves a seamless transition over from Giroud on economically-friendly terms.
Assuming the aging Giroud endures natural physical regression to play as minutes as he has, and Okafor is slotted more so in wide areas, Jovic could be afforded a fair shake under Pioli in an attempt to steer his career back on track.
