Barcelona Transfer News: Catalans set to win race for €80m striker ahead of Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal

What's the rumour?

According to Spanish source Marca, Barcelona have now become the frontrunners for Eintracht Frankfurt's €80m striker, pushing aside the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal in the process.

In case you didn't know...

Luka Jovic is a 21-year-old striker currently on loan from Benfica, but as part of the loan deal, Eintracht have the option to purchase the forward for just €8m, with the Portuguese club to retain a 20 per cent sell-on fee.

Benfica might be disappointed to lose the superstar for such a small fee, but they'll definitely be pleased that they included the 20 per cent sell-on fee in the deal, as if Jovic is to be sold to Barcelona for the rumoured fee of €80m, they will receive a tidy €16m.

The heart of the matter

Jovic has been hunted by a plethora of top European clubs in recent months and whilst Barcelona might be the frontrunners, for now, that could all change in a week's time.

Marca also said that Real Madrid had enquired about his availability in a meeting with the Serbian's agent, Fali Ramadani, last Thursday.

Bayern Munich are yet another club in the running for Jovic's signature. They have a reasonably good chance at getting him, too, as their manager, Niko Kovac, had nurtured him at Eintracht last year and the pair are reported to have a strong relationship.

Three English clubs are battling it out across the pond as well, with Chelsea reportedly leading on that front. He remains on the radars of Manchester United and Arsenal for the time being, anyway.

Teams must hurry to sign Jovic as soon as possible before his market value rises even more.

Rumour rating: 7/10

Barcelona are a top club in Europe with pockets deep enough to afford Jovic's price tag which makes this rumour a reasonably trustworthy one. Other websites and media outlets have corroborated much of the information that has been reported by Marca, too.

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What's next?

The battle for Luka Jovic is certainly not close to being over, as there are still a few months before the summer transfer window opens, and by that time, everything could have changed.