Eintracht Frankfurt have completed the signing of striker Luka Jovic on a permanent deal from Benfica following a successful loan spell.
The striker has 17 goals in 21 Bundesliga 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.
Frankfurt’s permanent signing of the striker was a formality but he is expected to leave the club this summer with interest from several European giants, landing the German club a sizable profit.
Real Madrid are said to hold a strong interest in the Bosnian-born striker and are willing to pay €70m for his signature, say reports, while Barcelona are said to be no longer in the running.
“Luka's development with us has been great to see,” Eintracht board member Fredi Bobic told official club media.
“For us there was never any doubt about wanting to bring him here permanently. He's a player with extraordinary abilities. It's important for us to sign him."
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.
