It has been speculated in recent days that Liverpool forward Milan Jovanovic will be sold in the coming transfer window. The rumours are more believable though as they were also written in the Liverpool Daily Post, which is normally quite reliable in stories such as this.
It was always going to be difficult for the 29 year old to settle in England. After all, his signing was agreed by the previous manager Rafa Benitez and new coach Roy Hodgson had no choice but to go through with a deal for a player he clearly knew little about. Like most Reds fans, I was confident that the Serbian would be relatively successful on Merseyside. He showed his abilities during the World Cup for Serbia as he scored and hit the post as Serbia beat an impressive German side in the group stages.
I also had relatively few concerns that Jovanovic was moving from Standard Liege in Belgium to the Premier League. Although Belgian football is not of the highest standards, at 29 years of age and with a good deal of international experience behind him, Jovanovic seemed to have the capabilities both mentally and technically to make it in the rough and tumble of English football.
Serbian players are not generally known as shrinking violets and during his time in Belgium, Jovanovic had grown a reputation for being an outspoken figure, humorous in his dealings with the media and tremendously ambitious in his footballing career. The pace of the Premier League also seemed to be no problem for the 29 year old as he clearly showed during the World Cup he both has the acceleration and strength to make long, powerful direct runs.
His time at Liverpool started off optimistically enough as Roy Hodgson started him in the majority of his first matches in charge of the Reds. Although never spectacular, he impressed the Anfield faithful enough with his work rate, speed and guile. The watershed moment came for him though when he was dropped after the disappointing 0-0 away draw to Birmingham City in the league. After that match, he hass not started another Premier League game with Maxi Rodriguez taking his place in the side. His limitations in the wide areas were most obviously exposed against Man city in the 3-0 defeat. The late withdrawal of Javier Mascherano forced Roy into a late change in tactics, playing 4-4-2 against a City side who are known for their counter-attacking football.
With Dirk Kuyt and Jovanovic on the wings, Hodgson was basically asking two players who had been used to playing more as wide forwards as wide midfield players. The Serbian by trade was a striker but Roy has never used him in his most favoured position. His goal against Steaua Bucharest is an indication as to what he can do more centrally but Roy is either unwilling to use him there, or is unaware that Jova could solve his striker problem.
In any case, the Serbian seems to be on borrowed time, and although he has certainly not set the world alight with his performances, surely he deserves at least until the end of the season to convince Roy of his capabilities in a more central area. Like Alberto Aquilani, it seems that he isn’t being given the chance to prove himself.
Article courtesy of our partner site Live4Liverpool.com