Barcelona have ruled out a move for in-demand Eintracht Frankfurt striker Luka Jovic, according to a report in El Mundo Deportivo.
The striker has 17 goals in 21 league starts this season, more than anyone else in the division apart from Robert Lewandowski, while he has also netted seven goals in the Europa League this campaign.
The 21-year-old joined Frankfurt from Benfica in 2017, initially on a loan deal having begun his career at Serbian giants Crvena Zvezda while he has heavily been linked to the Blaugrana.
However, this fresh report casts doubt upon any deal and claims Barca chiefs are concerned about the striker’s ability to contribute to team play outside of the penalty area.
Earlier this week, a report in Marca indicated the player is now top of Madrid’s transfer list this summer and they are prepared to part with €70m to secure his signature.
Frankfurt are expected to sign the striker outright from Benfica this summer before potentially selling him straight away to make a substantial profit.
Last month, El Mundo Deportivo claimed Barcelona transfer gurus Eric Abidal and Ramon Planes scouted the Serbian international in their clash with Portugal.
This followed on from a report in The Guardian which claimed the Catalan club are prepared to pay €50m for the Frankfurt striker while Abidal, Planes and Pep Segura also watched him for his club in the Europa League win over Inter.
However, the player’s father has subsequently stated that the in-demand player was ‘not interested’ in a switch to the Camp Nou.
“Luka had many offers – one of them was Barca but he's not interested now,” Milan Jovic told Bild.
“He's not sure he had any minutes at Barca. The truth is that Luka wants to stay in the Bundesliga and qualify with the Eintracht for the Champions League.”
In February, Marca cited a report in Frankfurter Allgemeine that the Blaugrana and the player have ‘laid the foundations for a deal’ although stressed there was no agreement yet with the German club.
Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain are also interested in a deal.
