Jovic will hope to impress on big stage by knocking Chelsea out of UEL

If Chelsea are to trip up on their way to the Europa League final this week, it may well be one of their own transfer targets who sticks out the leg.

The Blues are one of several big clubs who have been linked with 21-year-old Serbian striker Luka Jovic, who will lead the line for Eintracht Frankfurt in Thursday's Europa League semi-final first leg.

Jovic has electrified the Bundesliga with his brilliant form this season, scoring 25 goals for Frankfurt in one of the most successful seasons in the club's recent history.

His antics up front have put Eintracht on course for Champions League qualification, and also carried them through a fairytale European run, with goals against Inter Milan and former club Benfica on the road to the Europa League semi-finals.

The stocky Serbian is now one of Europe's most in-demand strikers, with Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid all reportedly lining up bids.

Just two years ago, however, Jovic joined Frankfurt on loan as a Benfica reject, with the Portuguese club happy to offload a player who they considered to be a liability due to his unprofessional attitude.

Jovic had been banished to the reserves in Lisbon, and even in his first year at Frankfurt, he failed to make an immediate impact. Under then coach Niko Kovac, he played only a bit-part role for much of the season, and remained in the shadows despite a four-game scoring run in March 2018.

It wasn't until Kovac left for Bayern Munich last summer and Austrian coach Adi Hutter arrived at Frankfurt that Jovic truly exploded.

'When I arrived, I found a supremely talented, unbelievably dangerous player,' said Hutter of Jovic last month. 'I can't say why it didn't work out for him at Benfica.'