Luka Jović

Genuine goalscorers are difficult to find in modern football. The natural successors to the likes of Edinson Cavani, Falcao, Luis Suárez and Robert Lewandowski have not been immediately apparent in recent seasons. There are arguments that the likes of Marcus Rashford and Kylian Mbappé are these players but they represent a different style of forward altogether. Now, with the development of Luka Jović, the heir apparent is very much in focus.

The first thing that strikes you when watching and analysing a player like Jović is that he scores every type of goal imaginable. He scores with his left foot, his right foot, his head. He scores from close in, from outside the area or via acrobatic volleys. It makes the 21-year-old the kind of forward that defenders truly hate to play against, one that cannot be ignored at any moment or in any situation.

His physical profile is immediately interesting in that he does not stand out in any individual aspect. He is not the tallest nor the fastest but he constantly wins aerial battles and outpaces opposition defenders; an interesting contrast to say the least. This is, however, a direct result of his awareness of space and how to exploit it efficiently. 

Jović displays an advanced understanding of where to place himself to take advantage of the positioning of the central defenders or full-backs. If you watch him closely you will see the Serb position himself on the shoulder of the furthest centre-back from the ball, in the defender’s blind spot. This little bit of positioning allows Jović to make the first movement without being immediately tracked by the defender, giving him the edge on the defensive line and allowing him to maintain the spatial advantage.

It is interesting to watch a playlist of goals from the 21-year-old this season. On more than one occasion, all that the Serbian forward has had to do is guide the ball into an empty net as it is knocked back across goal. This is seemingly an easy goal, the finish at least is simple, right? What is impressive, however, is that Jović is consistently the player found in the right place at the right time to finish these chances. This is no accident. He has an instinctive ability to occupy space that results in the ball often falling to him favourably. It is result of hours spent on the training pitch, refining his understanding and awareness.

It is difficult to identify a genuine flaw in the Serbian forward’s game. He is still raw in some aspects and, at times, his touch can be heavy in tight areas. However, he makes up for this with his ability to finish first time from a variety of angles and hit the ball with power. 

This season we have seen Jović strike up an excellent partnership at Frankfurt with the French forward Sébastien Haller. The two work extremely well in a tandem with Haller tending to be the player to drop into deeper areas allowing his strike partner to operate further ahead, pushing back the opposition defensive line. There is nothing to suggest that Jović would not be equally comfortable playing as the lone forward in front three, as we would likely see if he makes the expected move to one of Europe’s elite.