'Real Madrid bought me for £52m then I got offered to Man Utd, now I'm a free agent'

Real Madrid paid just over £52million to sign Luka Jovic from Eintracht Frankfurt in 2019, but the player was reportedly offered to Manchester United the following year after struggling to make an impact at the Bernabeu. And the striker is now a free agent after leaving AC Milan when his contract expired at the end of June.

Jovic piqued the interest of Real after bagging 10 goals in 14 Europa League appearances for Frankfurt during the 2018/19 season as the German club lost to Chelsea in the semi-finals of the competition. He also netted 17 Bundesliga goals that same season as his value skyrocketed over the course of one campaign. But he started just four La Liga matches during his maiden season for Real as he was forced to compete with Karim Benzema for a starting spot.

In October 2020, it was reported that Jovic had been offered to Manchester United, with the Red Devils being managed by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at the time.

The start of the season had begun late due to the delay of the previous campaign following the Covid outbreak, with the transfer window extending into early October.

Jovic was also reportedly offered to AC Milan, Roma and Bundesliga clubs but ended up remaining at Real for another three-and-a-half months before returning to Frankfurt on loan.

The Serbia international eventually departed Real for good when his contract expired in 2022 and joined Fiorentina. He was then bought by AC Milan a year later and went on to score 13 goals in 47 appearances for the San Siro giants before being released.

According to Spanish publication AS, Jovic is in line to join La Liga team Getafe if he passes a medical and agrees terms on his wages.

But the transfer could hit a stumbling block due to his salary, with the player said to be earning £55,000 per week at Milan.

Getafe could sell Borja Mayoral and Christantus Uche to fund Jovic's wages, with Leeds reportedly chasing the signing of Uche ahead of the new campaign.

Mexican club Cruz Azul are also said to be in the mix to land the forward and previously began negotiations with the ace. But talks have come to halt because of the apparent interest from Getafe.

Manchester United went on to sign former Paris Saint-Germain striker Edinson Cavani just days after they were linked with Jovic.

And they ended the 2020/21 Premier League campaign in second place as Manchester City won the title.

United have suffered a torrid time on the pitch since those days and could only muster a 15th-place Premier League finish last season. But current boss Ruben Amorim will be aiming for a much better year after signing exciting attackers Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo this summer.