Official: Luka Jovic joins Eintracht Frankfurt from Real Madrid on loan

Martin Macdonald

• Updated: 23 May 2023 08:47 CDT
• 2 min read

Eintracht Frankfurt have completed the signing of Real Madrid striker Luka Jovic on loan, with the Serbian set to rejoin the German side after leaving them for the Spanish capital in 2019.

Jovic made headlines in 2014 when, at the age of 16 years, nine months, and 28 days, he became the youngest player ever to feature in the Eternal Derby between Red Star Belgrade and Partizan Belgrade.

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He would eventually earn a move to Benfica, but it was a subsequent transfer to Frankfurt initially on loan and then permanently which saw him truly find his goalscoring touch.

In the 2018/19 campaign he was one of the most prolific forward in Europe, scoring 27 goals in 37 starts across all competitions for the Bundesliga side.

In October of 2018, he became the youngest player to score five goals in a Bundesliga fixture when he hit the back of the net five times in a 7-1 thrashing of Fortuna Dusseldorf.

In that campaign, he would help Frankfurt to the semi-final of the Europa League, scoring 10 goals in that competition.

It was his exploits in Germany that caught the attention of Real Madrid, who eventually signed him for a mammoth fee of £53m [€60 million].

So far, the transfer has been a disaster, however, with a lack of form and injury issues hampering any hope of Jovic making an immediate impact at the Santiago Bernabeu.

He scored just two goals in La Liga in his debut season, while he has started just two games in the 2020/21 season in the league.

Jovic now has the opportunity to get his career back on track with the club that put him on the map, though will have to fight for minutes alongside the in-form Andre Silva who is now the golden boy striker at Deutsche Bank Park.

The deal represents a good move for all parties as Jovic gets the chance for more minutes, while Real Madrid get him off their wage bill, at least temporarily, allowing them for greater manoeuvrability themselves in the transfer market.