By Oliver Trust
BERLIN, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- The main stand in Frankfurt's stadium is full of scouts from European clubs including Real Madrid, Barcelona, liverpool and Bayern Munich.
Their coveted target is the 21-year-old Serb striker Luka Jovic who has scored 18 goals in Bundesliga this season.
Director of football Fredi Bobic knows well that it will be tough for the 2018 German Cup winner to convince the forward to stay longer than next summer when the loan-deal expires. Frankfurt, however, does not intend to give up the fight for the Serb's services.
Jovic joined Frankfurt on loan for 200,000 euros. The club has a buying option worth "below the reported 12 million euros" as Frankfurt sport director Bruno Huebner put it.
The value of the striker has reportedly reached more than 40 million euro.
The shooting star of the 2018/2019 Bundesliga season was unhappy after being left out of Benfica's first team in 2016. The offer from Frankfurt somehow brought him back to life, the former wonder boy of Serbian football says with a smile all over his face.
Former Frankfurt coach Niko Kovac must have done a great job as he brought Jovic' potential to the surface. "I owe Niko Kovac the success I currently have. He gets the most out of you," said Jovic who has been capped three times for his country.
In October 2018, Jovic became the youngest player in the Bundesliga history to score five goals in one game when his side demolished league newcomers Fortuna Duesseldorf.
Meanwhile, Kovac has taken over job at Bayern Munich and his side is desperately looking for promising strikers. The coach emphasized that Jovic will end up at a "really big club" and is praising his former player's finishing qualities and efficiency in the box, "as he's always on the move getting into space."
The Bavarians will now have to square off with La Liga giants and Premier League leader Liverpool.
Real is said to look for a replacement for Karim Benzema, Barcelona might need an understudy for for Luis Suarez, the Reds for Mo Salah and Bayern needs support for Robert Lewandowski.
Spanish reports say Real has decided to concentrate on Jovic as their main target. The Los Blancos are said to no longer be in the hunt for Lewandowski or Paris St Germain striker Edison Cavani. Papers like AS and Marca say Real's bid for Harry Kane has been rejected by Tottenham Hotspur.
But Jovic hasn't yet announced his future plans. Until then he is part of Eintracht Frankfurt. What are their remaining options?
The Frankfurt official confirmed his side will use its buying option and try to convince Jovic to stay for at least another year. In case Jovic is bound for new shores, the German side could make a huge profit.
"Looking at his performance, it's obvious he is on the way to becoming world class," Bobic commented before adding he has no any illusions that Jovic will not be donning the Frankfurt shirt for very long. The young Serb doesn't deny to be thankful for Frankfurt's efforts, but in the end some of the big names could win his heart.
