Real to exchange one flop for another

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. The old proverb has been proven true many times and is also applicable to players and teams. Put the same player in another team and they’ll blossom. Change their surroundings again and they would falter. It’s not always easy to predict who will prove a good fit at a club. It depends on so many factors.

Take these two examples.

Andre Silva. The Portuguese striker arrived to AC Milan four years ago for a fee of $41.2million with a pedigree of a lethal young striker. He bagged 24 goals in 58 appearances for Porto and Milan saw him as an ideal purchase that would ensure the return to the top of Serie A. To say it didn’t work out would be an understatement. He scored just two goals for the Rossoneri. Silva never got adjusted to life in Italy and was dispatched to a season-long loan to Sevilla. That suited him more as he managed nine league goals over 27 games in the 2018/19 season. It wasn’t spectacular but it was something. Then, a masterstroke. To Milan, Silva was trash, but to Eintracht Frankfurt – he’s proven to be a treasure. He’s scored 16 goals on loan before making the move permanent. Milan took a huge loss in transfer fees as the Germans bought the striker for laughable $3.3 million last September. He’s got 25 goals in just 29 Bundesliga matches since. And guess what? Now Real Madrid want to sign him.

Luka Jovic. The Serbian striker was sold by his boyhood club Crvena zvezda to Benfica as one of Europe’s best young goalscorers. But he never got going at the Portuguese powerhouse and was sent out to Eintracht Frankfurt (yes, them again) on a two-year loan. Again, the German club turned someone’s trash into treasure. Goals were flowing as Frankfurt reached the Europa League semi-final with the Serbian a prominent figure. And guess what? Real Madrid signed him for $70 million. However, it didn’t work out for him in Spain and he was back in Frankfurt on loan.

Where are we going with this?

Luka Jovic is likely to be used by Real Madrid as a makeweight as they try to land Andre Silva. The Portuguese is seen as an alternative to Erling Braut Haaland, who seems to be the only player who is out of everyone’s price range. Silva is not quite a high-profile player, but his strong performances suggest that Zinedine Zidane could use the former Porto youngster. As long as history doesn’t repeat itself and their recruit from Frankfurt doesn’t prove to be trash.