Dejan Joveljić – Red Star Belgrade’s latest wunderkind | OneFootball

Manuel Veth –

It was the deal of the century for Eintracht Frankfurt. The club sold their star striker Luka Jović to Real Madrid in a deal worth €60 million. It is a lot of money for the Eagles but will also leave Frankfurt in need to fill the void up front. One name that has come up as a potential replacement is Serbian forward Dejan Joveljić from Red Star Belgrade.

Dejan Joveljić comes from a Red Star Belgrade side that has defied the odds last season by first reaching the UEFA Champions League group stage and then manage to beat Liverpool 2-0 at home on matchday 4.

It would be interesting to check out these sports betting sites to find out whether Red Star can once again beat the big boys in the Champions League next season. Not that Dejan Joveljić will be concerned much about the Champions League, instead he will be looking up the odds of Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League and Bundesliga.

Dejan Joveljić – Eintracht Frankfurt bound?

Frankfurt sporting director Fredi Bobić according to some reports from Germany and Serbian has already secured the signing of the 19-year-old forward. The forward will join Frankfurt in a deal worth €4.5 million to €5 million. Furthermore, Red Star Belgrade will receive a percentage of any future transfer, in what is a similarly structured deal to Bobić’s past transfers.

The question on every Frankfurt fans mind, however, is whether Dejan Joveljić can replace Luka Jović. In the short-term, that seems impossible but after looking at his numbers and after speaking to Serbian football expert Miloš Marković it becomes apparent that Frankfurt have landed a real talent.

“He is a great talent indeed,” Marković said to the Futbolgrad Network. “Mature despite his tender age. Great awareness and positioning and a proper poacher and the fox in the box,” Marković added. That second aspect will remind people of Jović, whose best ability was to convert chances within the area even after he was invisible for large parts of the game.

“Uses every chance he gets,” Marković said. “Composed finisher. Impresses with his focus in that split of a second when big decisions are being made. In that sense, much like Jović although they are physically a bit different,” Marković concluded.

A glance at Joveljić’s numbers does indeed suggest that he is a true poacher. The striker scored eight goals in 17 Serbian SuperLiga games this season. In fact, six of those goals came in his last nine appearances for the club suggesting that Dijan Joveljić has recently experienced a big jump in his development.

Dejan Joveljić – Can he replace Luka Jović?

Breaking down Jović’s and Joveljić’s numbers, in fact, reveal an interesting detail. When it comes to goals scored per 90 minutes last season, Dejan Joveljić (0.69) has been slightly more prolific than Jović (0.67). Furthermore, Dejan Joveljić needed fewer shots per 90 minutes to score his goals.

The 19-year-old Red Star forward had just 2.32 shots per 90 this season, in comparison, Jović took 3.37 shots per 90 minutes while playing for Eintracht Frankfurt. It is a number that is also reflected in their respective goal conversion. Jović has a goal conversion of 20%, and Joveljić managed to convert 29.63% of his shots into goals.

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In fact, it is fascinating comparing the numbers of the two forwards. When it comes to touches inside the box once again, Dejan Joveljić has slightly more (5.32) per 90 minutes than Luka Jović (4.52).

When comparing the numbers, the two are almost even in any aspect. Of course, Jović managed to score his goals in the Bundesliga and the Europa League against better competition. But the future Real Madrid forward is also two years older than Dejan Joveljić.

Hence, it appears, at least on paper, that Dejan Joveljić is a perfect fit to replace Luka Jović at Eintracht Frankfurt.

Manuel Veth is the owner and Editor in Chief of the Futbolgrad Network. He also works as a freelance journalist and among others contributes to Forbes.com and Pro Soccer USA. He holds a Doctorate of Philosophy in History from King’s College London, and his thesis is titled: “Selling the People’s Game: Football’s transition from Communism to Capitalism in the Soviet Union and its Successor States,” which is available HERE. Originally from Munich, Manuel has lived in Amsterdam, Kyiv, Moscow, Tbilisi, London, and currently is located in Victoria BC, Canada.  Follow Manuel on Twitter @ManuelVeth.