Luka Jovic is one of Barcelona’s key summer transfer targets after the club sent a trio of Pep Segura, Eric Abidal and Ramon Planes to watch the Serbia international in action on Thursday.
According to Marca, the 21-year-old Eintracht Frankfurt forward heads up a list which includes Celta Vigo’s Maxi Gomez RB Leipzig’s Timo Werner, and Nicolas Pepe from Lille.
The club’s technical team will have been impressed by what they saw from Jovic as a sumptuous lob at Inter – his 22nd in all competitions this season – was enough to guide the Bundesliga side through to the last-eight of the Europa League with a 1-0 victory over the two legs.
‼️ Éric Abidal, Pep Segura and Ramon Planés are all at the Inter Milan - Eintracht Frankfurt game, allegedly to watch Luka Jovic, whose agent Fali Ramadani also is present. [@DiMarzio, 🥇🥇] pic.twitter.com/NVQ71VXSQO
— Omar 🎙️ (@Blaugranagram) March 14, 2019
Tentative discussions with Frankfurt were said to have taken place on Thursday with Barcelona looking to secure a deal in the region of €40-50 million.
Jovic is currently on loan at Frankfurt from Benfica, but there is an obligation to buy for €12m with the striker then to be sold on.
Given Luis Suarez turns 33 during the next season, the No9 position is viewed as a priority position for recruitment in the summer, alongside bringing in a new left-back to help cover Jordi Alba.
However, the club are unlikely to pursue a deal for Vigo forward Gomez, according to another report in Marca.
The 22-year-old has long been a target for the Catalan giants and although he represents a potentially cheap option, his €50m buyout clause will likely be halved if struggling Celta are relegated, there are issues with his passport.
As noted in the report, the Uruguayan would need to occupy one of the three non-EU player slots in the squad but all are currently taken with South American trio Arthur, Arturo Vidal and Malcom.
This further enhances the chances of Jovic becoming a Barcelona player in the summer.
