These observations — where I look at Real Madrids history its players on loan Castilla tactical tidbits and other relevant thoughts — are now a regular thing. All previous editions can be found here. Since Cristiano Ronaldo left in 2018 Real Madrid began their quest in signing his replacement in a variety of ways. They pursued Eden Hazard in 2018 to no avail brought back Mariano Diaz from Lyon hijacking a transfer to Sevilla with their first right of refusal in a decision that was disastrous for everyone involved entrusted Gareth Bale Marco Asensio and Karim Benzema then eventually brought in Hazard one year later along with Luka Jovic.
Heres what hindsight has told us Hazard shouldve stayed in London the whole time Mariano shouldve been allowed to go to Sevilla Gareth Bale shouldve been sold right after the final whistle in Kiev and lastly Benzema was going to be so good that no back-up striker was ever needed. But hindsight is easy as always. Decisions in the moment are more difficult. The point ultimately is this Real Madrid signed Luka Jovic for a position back-up striker that doesnt exist. Much like the back-up goalkeeper or the 10 having players for those roles means they wont see the field. In past eras that would be different but benching Benzema is not happening here nor should it and when the Frenchman cant play youre asking your striker to come in cold like some Terminator awakening from a deep freeze to execute goals like rhythm and match fitness is some kind of mere human construct.
Right now the most important thing for me is to reach my best form as soon as possible Jovic said in March of 2021. He went on to further stress how hard it is to establish match fitness without playing Im still not there and I might not be strong enough to play 90 minutes thats right. But Im still trying to change that as soon as possible It is not uncommon for Real Madrid to sign players off of small sample sizes like they did with Jovic. They signed Eder Militao Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo Goes based on their own internal scouting and justified the price tags because they believed in their due-diligence. But timing also really matters. Militao eased his way in just in time for Raphael Varane and Sergio Ramos to leave in one summer Vinicius was plugged in one of the most desperate times in recent history and Rodrygo rose when there was no reliable offensive production from the right wing. Rodrygo may win again with Kylian Mbappes decision.
Jovic did not have such luck. Benzema morphed into a top-three striker in Real Madrid history in my list hes #2 and putting him #1 by the time his career ends is entirely conceivable. Having to back-up a freak like that is not easy. Opportunities will be scarce. The limited cameos will be even more challenging — like playing with weights attached to your ankles. You will be crucified if you dont play well. And as we saw the narratives wrote themselves every time Jovic played. This is why Ancelotti doesnt rotate.
The off ball movement the bad luck none of that really mattered to the masses who just wanted goals and cared little for the cute tactical things. Its always been this way. When Benzema was having horrendous season in front of goal in 2017 - 2018 highlighting his defensive work and link-up play was regarded as a criminal act. But labelling Jovic as a victim is too partisan. Jovic couldve done more. In many cameos he went missing. Say what you want about Mariano Diaz. He may have lacked footballing IQ and link-up ability but he made his presence known — dropped to help win the ball put his body on the line throw defenders around get to headers and break his bones in order to get on the end of chances. Often the only times you were reminded that Jovic was on the field was when you looked at the stat sheet at the end of the game where you saw his name next to a bunch of zeroes and a game-low in touches.
But Jovic is a good player at least I believe he is and I know at least one other person who is on that island with me even if it didnt work out at Real Madrid. He has a chance at Fiorentina now to prove his worth. What initially was to be a loan spell turned into a permanent transfer to the Italian side and it comes with a cost to Real Madrid Theyve lost him for free. Had you told us in 2019 that Jovics Real Madrid tenure would end with 36 appearances and three goals over the course of three years before the club would sell him for free it wouldve been a devastating bit of news to digest.
But to flip it in another perspective Real Madrid will shed around 10m in wages and cutting costs rather than doubling-down on something that is clearly not working is always wise even if difficult. Real Madrid will hold on to 50% of his rights on any future sale. Thats not a bad place to be in. If Jovics 2018 form is anything to go by he can still turn into a good player for a good team somewhere. Fiorentina now owning him rather than bringing him on loan empowers them to invest playing time in the Serbian — something he desperately needs — and if he improves the club can make some money in subsequent years off his sale.
With Jovic all-but-officially out the door the trimming of the depth chart continues. The club will also try to offload Mariano and there may be a scenario where they dont bring in a back-up striker — again a role that exists only on paper — to compensate. Instead you may see Eden Hazard — remember him? — and Rodrygo play some false-nine minutes in rare events where Benzema cant play. My priority is to be in a quality league and play Jovic said last summer. He may get that wish now. At my age if I leave I want to be in a place where I can be in the lineup because Ive already spent more time off the pitch than on it
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