Sold at £5.94m, now worth £33m: Spurs had a mare on "deceptive" £152k-pw "goal-getter" - opinion

Following one and a half seasons in which he bagged 13 goals and registered four assists over 48 appearances, it is easy to see why Tottenham Hotspur were reported to be interested in signing a 17-year-old Luka Jovic back in 2016.

Indeed, having become Red Star Belgrade’s youngster ever goalscorer at the age of 16, the centre-forward quickly established himself as one of the most exciting prospects in European football, with both Spurs and Arsenal believed to be keen on securing a deal for the teenager who had already been compared to Radamel Falcao.

Ultimately, Daniel Levy would miss out on a move for the teenager – who Red Star Belgrade general director, Zvezdan Terzic, claimed would “become the best striker in Europe” – to Portuguese giants Benfica, who paid Red Star £5.94m for the striker’s services in January of 2016.

However, after failing to break into the Eagles’ first-team side, Jovic was subsequently sent on a two-year loan to Eintracht Frankfurt, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Indeed, over his 75 appearances for Frankfurt in this 24-month period, the youngster exploded, becoming one of the most deadly players in Germany by scoring 36 goals and providing his teammates with nine assists – form which led to Jovic earning a considerable amount of praise, none more so than from the former Serbia coach, Mladen Krstajic.

Speaking about the striker back in 2019, Krstajic said:

“He’s a classic goal-getter with great control of the ball and a good understanding of the game. I’d probably compare him to Luis Suarez. He’s courageous and dangerous at any moment because he’s always lying in wait for his chance or any inattention from the opponent.

“He sometimes appears impassive or lacklustre, but that’s even more