Finally a worthy Ronaldo replacement? Why Jovic can be the man to save Real Madrid
Zinedine Zidane’s side need to improve their goalscoring return in 2019-20, but look to have found the natural-born killer they need in attack
In the 2017-18 La Liga season Real Madrid scored 94 goals, but this was down to 63 in 2018-19 as Los Blancos went through multiple managers. Julen Lopetegui, Santiago Solari and finally Zinedine Zidane all attempted to make up that 31-goal void, but could not magic goals out of nothing.
Coincidentally, but also tellingly, 31 was the number of goals Cristiano Ronaldo was involved in during his final league season in Madrid, scoring 26 times and assisting on five more goals.
Mariano Diaz was bought for €30 million (£27m/$35m) and inherited Ronaldo’s number seven shirt, but had none of the traits of the five-time Ballon d’Or winner, finishing the season with just three league goals. Madrid were able to convince Zidane to return to Real, but replacing Ronaldo’s goals still remains their biggest priority.
Enter Luka Jovic.
On Tuesday, Eintracht Frankfurt confirmed the Serbian striker is joining Madrid this summer on a five-year contract, pending a successful medical.
The 21-year-old is seen by Zidane as a possible partner for Benzema like Ronaldo was, or even as a lone striker thanks to his excellent all-round ability and hold-up play.
Goal
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