GdS: ‘The night of a king’ – how Jovic’s future could change after purple patch | OneFootball

AC Milan’s win over Inter last night means their season stays alive, and they have Luka Jovic to thank in large part for that.

As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) write, Milan have a chance of winning the cup and qualifying for the next edition of the Europa League thanks to a player that was left out of the 2024-25 Champions League squad list.

One of the many paradoxes of this very strange season was last night’s game. Firstly when Jovic jumped higher than Darmian to head in and make it 1-0, and then when he took advantage of a corner that wasn’t cleared to double the lead en-route to an eventual 3-0 win.

The strange thing is in the very fact that Jovic was on the pitch from the start. In the winter transfer window the club invested over €30m in Santiago Gimenez, and in the last summer window they had duelled with Roma until the final hours of negotiations to get Tammy Abraham on loan.

Before that, the striker role had been entrusted to Morata. Yesterday, in the only match that could restore a bit of pride to the red half of the city and at the same time reopen the doors to Europe, Tammy and Gimenez were on the bench. And Morata watched (possibly) on TV from Istanbul.

When that first goal hit the back of the net, Jovic seemed to celebrate with anger. He jumped and slid towards the corner flag without a hint of a smile. That’s the man he is, a tough guy who appears in moments of sporting battle.

It’s not like his time at the club has given him great joy, either. He arrived as a reserve striker in the final hours of the 2023 summer mercato after a series of missed deals, and helped Stefano Pioli’s Milan to get second place in the standings with important goals.

The Serbian was Olivier Giroud’s deputy but he still scored nine goals, six of which came in the league. This season he has been further relegated to third choice (sometimes fourth, with Francesco Camarda even starting games) but doesn’t give up.

As mentioned, Jovic was excluded from the Champions League squad after being given a renewal and the No.9 shirt not long before. Then, a groin injury also compromised his season. Yet, he reappeared in style at the end with a quartet of goals: against Napoli, Fiorentina and the Nerazzurri (x2).

After the game, he said to Mediaset: “It was a really important game for us. We are not doing well in the championship and in the derby we had to show our qualities. We did it, and now we are going to Rome!”

To yesterday’s joy he can add a new future: Luka’s contract is expiring, but the club has a renewal option. On this form, it is difficult not to use it.