In a blow to Arsenal’s plans to sign him, Real Madrid are prepared to keep Luka Jovic beyond this summer as they believe he needs time to adjust to life in Spain.
The Serbian joined Los Blancos in the summer after a solid season in Germany with Eintracht Frankfurt.
However, he has scored just two times this season and has only finished one game for the Spaniards.
He was recently in the news for the wrong reason after he flouted Spain’s coronavirus rule by returning to his country to be with his girlfriend.
It was believed that the club’s hierarchy was unimpressed by that action, but they have now released a statement backing the 22-year-old and claiming that a player’s first year in a new country is usually a tough one for their adaptation.
The club released a statement via Spanish paper AS:
“Luka is at the perfect age to grow as a footballer and as a person, he signed a contract until 2025 and we are counting on him.
“He did nothing without knowledge of Real Madrid and the local police of their country were informed of their arrival.
“A mountain has been made from a grain of sand.
“The first year is not easy for anyone due to its adaptation to a new country, language and culture, but we know its potential and nobody doubts its possibilities here.”
Mikel Arteta was looking at the possibility of landing the striker should Real Madrid push ahead with their move for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
