Real Madrid eye Luka Jovic - Andre Silva swap deal
By Tom Gott
Real Madrid have joined Manchester United in pursuit of Eintracht Frankfurt striker Andre Silva and hope that their willingness to send Luka Jovic in the opposite direction could give them the upper hand in the deal.
Silva has enjoyed a ludicrous campaign at the top of Frankfurt's side. He has racked up 25 goals and seven assists in just 29 appearances this season - a tally bettered only by Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski in the Bundesliga.
Understandably, that form has caught the eye of some of Europe's biggest clubs. United are keen as they hunt for an out-and-out striker to solve their goalscoring problems, but according to Bild, Real have joined the race too.
Los Blancos have been looking for someone to compete with, and eventually replace, Karim Benzema in attack, and they thought they had found the perfect person when they lured Jovic over from Frankfurt in the summer of 2019, but that really did not go to plan.
The £53m signing managed just two goals and two assists in 32 appearances for Real and was sent back to Frankfurt on loan in January. He netted twice on his debut and has since added another two goals to his tally.
Real hope to sign Silva for around £35m and send Jovic in the other direction for closer to £17m, giving Frankfurt a quick and easy solution to their problem.
Despite interest from United and Borussia Dortmund, Silva's preference is believed to be a move to Spain, where Real are joined by cross-town rivals Atletico Madrid in chasing his signature.
Using Jovic makes a lot of sense for Real, but this one will come down to whether Frankfurt believe the Serb is worth that £17m. Four goals in 16 appearances this year is hardly an impressive tally, but the German side know all about his potential.
During the 2018/19 season - his second year on loan with Frankfurt - Jovic plundered 27 goals in all competitions, which had most fans convinced he was destined to become the greatest striker on the planet.
It's clear that the wheels have fallen off somewhat, but at just 23 years old, Jovic clearly has a lot of time to bounce back, and Real hope that Frankfurt will agree.