Five-goal Jovic shows 'world class potential' after haul

BERLIN: Luka Jovic has been hailed as a "potential world-class striker" after the 20-year-old's five goals in Eintracht Frankfurt's 7-1 drubbing of Fortuna Dusseldorf.

The Serbian striker needed just 55 minutes to score his Friday night haul, becoming the youngest player in Bundesliga history to achieve the feat.

The Serbia international is also the first Frankfurt player to score five in one league match since Eintracht was founded in 1899.

"You always have to be careful with superlatives, but for me, he has the potential to become a world-class striker," enthused Frankfurt coach Adi Huetter.

Having also scored in each of his two previous league games, Jovic now has seven goals to make him the top scorer in the Bundesliga so far this season.

His stunning haul put him in the same company as Robert Lewandowski, Jurgen Klinsmann and Gerd Mueller, who all scored five in a single German league game.

He was taken off on 86 minutes, but Jovic later admitted he was unaware he had been just one short of matching Dieter Mueller's record of six goals in a single German league game.

"It was not a priority for me, the only thing that counted for me was the team's victory," said Jovic, who also scored five in a youth team game as a 12-year-old.

"I have always shot from anywhere on goal, it just paid off today," he added.

Jovic, on loan from Benfica, only got his chance after Frankfurt's first-choice striker Ante Rebic was injured at the start of the season.

Now Frankfurt are considering signing him permanently.

Television pundit Matthias Sammer rates Jovic as worth more than the 10 million euros ($11.5 million) asking price.

"He has a good movement, anticipation and technique, he is the complete player," ex-Germany midfielder Sammer told Eurosport.

Jovic thanked both Huetter "for the space he gives me" and also the Austrian's predecessor Niko Kovac, who left at the end of last season to take charge of Bayern Munich.

"He really helped me to develop as both a player and a person," Jovic said of current Bayern boss Kovac.

"It was because of him that I persevered and developed into an absolute professional."