Real Madrid forward flies to Italy to complete permanent move - Reports

Real Madrid forward Luka Jovic is flying to Florence to complete his permanent transfer to Fiorentina, Fabrizio Romano has reported.

Jovic has failed to prove his mettle at the Santiago Bernabeu. The Whites signed him for a sizable €63 million fee from Eintracht Frankfurt in the summer of 2019, hoping to provide cover for Karim Benzema.

The Serbian failed to win then-coach Zinedine Zidane’s confidence and made only 25 appearances across competitions for his team, scoring only twice. Things have not changed for the better under Carlo Ancelotti as well.

Since his disappointing debut season, he has taken part in 26 games for Real Madrid across competitions, adding only one more goal to his tally. Jovic was also loaned to his former club Frankfurt for the second half of the 2020-21 campaign, scoring four goals in 14 Bundesliga games.

As per Romano, Los Blancos have decided to cut ties with the underperforming player, greenlighting his move to Serie A giants Fiorentina. The forward is set to have his medical in Florence, after which he will be presented as a Fiorentina player.

Surprisingly, the Italian outfit are not expected to pay anything to Real for their forward, who still had three years left on his contract with Los Blancos. There is only a 50 percent sell-on clause in his Fiorentina contract, which would earn Madrid 50 percent of Jovic’s future transfer fee.

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Karim Benzema’s brilliance a contributor to Luka Jovic’s doomed Real Madrid career

Jovic moved to the Bernabeu on the back of a 27-goal (48 games across competitions) season with Bundesliga outfit Frankfurt. However, he never found the confidence to play his best game for the Spanish giants, as he always struggled to get regular minutes.

The ever-reliable Benzema played a role in Jovic’s underwhelming stint in the Spanish capital. The Frenchman has been on an upward trajectory since Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure, always doing everything in his power to help the team.

At Fiorentina, Jovic could be at his best again. There is a vacancy in the team for the striker's position post-Dusan Vlahovic’s departure to Juventus.

Real Madrid will hope for him to succeed at Fiorentina and then move elsewhere, as that is the only way they can recover a portion of the money they spent on the 24-year-old.

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