Real Madrid present Jovic, with more unveilings to follow
Over the years, I've come to like Real Madrid's summer unveilings, which are a hallmark of the Florentino Pérez regime. It's true they're not all they used to be, in the sense that it's no longer signings of the magnitude of Zidane et al; but they're still manna from heaven for the press in the close season, and help get the fans up for the new campaign. Summer is like a footballing spring in which new signings are budding flowers carrying the promise of sunnier times. Yesterday it was Luka Jovic's turn to be unveiled, today it's Eden Hazard, and soon it'll be Ferland Mendy - with more to follow. I'm not giving up on Kylian Mbappé; he's turning the screw on PSG. It's down to Pérez to show the kind of chutzpah, and money, that he used to.
Jovic is a Real Madrid signing I'm excited by
Yesterday was Jovic's day, though. He's a signing I like. He's more the kind of forward that Atlético Madrid tend to buy: a youngster with huge promise who, it is hoped, will kick on there once and for all. A typically Pérez-esque purchase would have been someone like Harry Kane, but we're in times of belt-tightening at the Bernabéu. Jovic is a player I'm excited by nevertheless. I'm impressed by how far he's come already for a 21-year-old. He possesses such energy, class, power and hunger, not to mention an opportunist's eye for goal. He keeps the posts firmly in his sights at all times and doesn't think twice about having a dig, even from tricky positions; he's a striker who scores all manner of different kinds of goals.
A Serbia international, Jovic comes from good stock. Much like the Argentinians, the players who move abroad from the former Yugoslav states pretty much come with a value-for-money guarantee. They rarely seem to struggle to adapt to their new surroundings. They strike out into the world seeking success, and almost all of them appear to find it. Things may not have worked out for Jovic at Benfica, but he certainly made up for that in the Bundesliga. He has that icey-cool look in his eyes that makes him a man you'd want by your side in the trenches and, having been found wanting last season despite Karim Benzema's best efforts, Real Madrid's forward line has been given a major boost by his arrival, and Hazard's too.