When he was a top young forward with the world at his feet, Luka Jovic would have imagined himself on far greater stages than the Europa Conference League Final.
Yet Real Madrid‘s forgotten man has the chance to end West Ham‘s hopes of European glory and set his career back on track once and for all.
Jovic is approaching the end of a season-long loan at Fiorentina from Madrid – on the face of it a huge coup for the Serie A club, who have struggled to challenge for the top four in the league of the table since last qualifying for the Champions League in 2009.
Yet Jovic has largely been a shadow of the player who cost Madrid £56million from Eintracht Frankfurt.
He hit 27 goals in 2018-19, including in both legs of the Europa League semi-final against Chelsea, which Frankfurt lost on a penalties. He also bears a passing resemblance to Sergio Aguero and that year, he certainly played like him.
Luka Jovic (left) has flattered to deceive while on loan with Fiorentina during this campaign
He looks to be a shadow of the player Real Madrid thought they had signed back in 2019
However, the 25-year-old has declined to such an extent that he has started only 16 times in the league for Fiorentina this term, though his output in the Conference League has been better – six goals in 12 games.
Jovic has struggled to adapt to life in Serie A, with sources in Italy indicating the Serbian has not always impressed with his attitude.
Then there have been difficulties learning Italian as well as a testy relationship with supporters.
After scoring against Inter Milan last October, Jovic ran to the Fiorentina supporters and put his hands to his ears. Not surprisingly, there was little love for him after that gesture.
Yet there are signs that that rapport is improving.
Though Jovic missed excellent chances in the Italian Cup defeat by Inter last month, he was in tears soon after the final whistle. To Fiorentina supporters, that was at least a sign he cared. Score the winner in the Final and Jovic could complete the turnaround – though whether it would be enough to keep him in Florence is another matter.
Jovic has one year left on his contract at the Bernabeu and though there appears little chance of him finding his way back into the starting XI there, the imminent departure of Karim Benzema will be music to the ears of all Madrid forwards.
‘I left Eintracht very early, and when I arrived in Madrid the spotlight was on me,’ Jovic said in March. ‘Fitting in at the best club in the world is complicated.
Jovic has seen his attitude questioned in Florence and he has had a testy relationship with fans
This has been a momentous season for Fiorentina, despite issues surrounding Jovic’s form
‘Between injuries, and Covid-19, I had unfair pressure on me. It was an unhappy experience. Here at Fiorentina I can evolve and we have everything to go and win the Europa Conference League this season.’
Despite Jovic’s issues, this has been a joyous season for Fiorentina, where Argentina great Gabriel Batistuta made his name in the 1990s and where Roberto Baggio and Rui Costa also dazzled, while Mohamed Salah had a successful loan spell from Chelsea there in 2015.
Coach Vincenzo Italiano – which translated literally means ‘Vincent Italian’ – has built on his reputation as one of the smartest young coaches in Italy. As well as guiding Fiorentina to two finals, Italiano steered them to eighth in Serie A.
These could be Italiano’s final days as coach. He has admirers in the Premier League and is also thought to be on Roma’s list if Jose Mourinho departs in the weeks ahead.
Like a number of Italian clubs, lack of financial power means there are none of the superstars of the 1980s and 1990s wearing the famous purple shirt. And like many of their rivals, Fiorentina have been planning to move to a new stadium without ever actually making significant progress. The Artemio Franchi is a romantic venue but romance does not pay the bills.
He heads to Prague with a point to prove in the Conference League final against West Ham
Yet there are plenty of players to keep West Ham honest. The Hammers tried to buy centre back Nikola Milenkovic two years while winger Nicolas Gonzalez was a target for Leicester during the January transfer window and scored twice against Basel in the semi-final.
Midfielder Sofyan Amrabat was a star of the Morocco side who beat Spain and Portugal on their way to finishing fourth at last winter’s World Cup, though with Jovic failing to catch fire Fiorentina lack a star centre-forward.
Arthur Cabral and Antonin Barak are solid operators but West Ham will be confident of handling them.
Jovic at his best is a different prospect altogether – although recapturing that form will be another matter entirely.
