{"id":566666,"date":"2020-09-21T07:08:49","date_gmt":"2020-09-21T11:08:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/?p=566666"},"modified":"2020-09-21T07:08:49","modified_gmt":"2020-09-21T11:08:49","slug":"zinedine-zidane-jovic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2020\/09\/21\/zinedine-zidane-jovic\/","title":{"rendered":"Zinedine Zidane: ‘I Don’t Have Anything Against Jovic’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Real Madrid<\/a> manager Zinedine Zidane has denied reports of a rift between himself and Serbian striker Luka Jovic.<\/p>\n

Jovic, who joined Madrid last summer for over \u00a350 million<\/a>, was left on the bench despite his side struggling in front of goal in their opening game of the season.<\/p>\n

Zinedine Zidane Denies Rift With Luke Jovic<\/h2>\n

Youngsters Chosen Over Jovic<\/h3>\n

Zidane instead chose to bring on youngsters Marvin Park and Sergio Arribas in an attempt to break the deadlock.<\/p>\n

When asked if Zidane had any problems with Jovic, the Frenchman replied<\/a>: “No, we have a squad of players, I have to choose and I opted to choose the players I did. I don\u2019t have anything against any player. I just didn\u2019t want to change the formation; Karim [Benzema] was playing well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t change our formation. It\u2019s tricky because if you throw on another centre-forward, you have to change the formation and I didn\u2019t want to. We needed to bring on players on the wings, and that\u2019s what we did.\u201d<\/p>\n

Decision Puts Jovic’s Future in Doubt<\/h3>\n

Jovic’s omission from the starting line-up and the fact that he didn’t even come off the bench will put his future at Madrid in further doubt.<\/p>\n

The 22-year-old scored just two goals in La Liga last season – the striker arrived from Eintracht Frankfurt last summer after scoring 27 goals in all competitions.<\/p>\n

Jovic won’t be short of suitors should he decide to move away from the Bernabeu before the transfer window shuts.<\/p>\n

A loan move<\/a> is perhaps the most likely option, with Jovic still having five years left on his contract at Madrid. Newcastle United<\/a> have been linked with the Serbia international<\/a>, although that is unlikely now that Callum Wilson has joined the club.<\/p>\n

Should Jovic leave, his most probable destinations are Serie A or the Bundesliga. AC Milan<\/a> are looking for an alternative to veteran Zlatan Ibrahimovic<\/a>, while the Bundesliga will appeal to Jovic as it was where he enjoyed his breakthrough season with Frankfurt.<\/p>\n

The striker still has his best years ahead of him – he’ll be hoping that he’s able to spend them more productively than merely warming the bench.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Main Photo<\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>