Adi Hutter: “If we can afford to keep Jovic on the bench, it shows our strength in depth”

Luka Jovic has returned to Eintracht Frankfurt and has returned with a bang. In four matches for his old club, totaling 104 minutes of gameplay, the striker has scored three goals. The goal per game ratio for the Real Madrid loanee amounts to one goal every 35 minutes. Despite his return to form, Eintract Frankfurt’s manager, Adi Hutter, has no intention of altering a successful system in order to start the striker.

In a pre-match press conference prior to the Bundesliga match up with Hoffenhiem, the manager revealed that Jovic will likely continue on the bench. “Luka is a world-class striker who brings extraordinary ability,” Hutter explained. “If we can afford to keep him and Sebastian Rode on the bench because the others are doing well, it shows our strength in depth. I have told Luka that we will know when the time is right to put him in the starting XI.”,

Frankfurt currently play a one-striker system, with Portugal’s Andre Silva banging in the goals for fun this season. Silva has 16 goals and 3 assists in 18 Bundesliga matches this season, attracting interest from the likes of Atletico Madrid, West Ham, and Wolves. If Jovic is to break into the XI, he will need to prove he can co-exist with Andre Silva without jeopardizing Frankfurt’s defensive solidity. If the tandem can both continue to score goals for the German club, then a European spot will not be far out of reach by season’s end.