As Jovetic joins Inter on 18 month loan, we take a look at how it all went awry for him…

The 29th of September, 2009 was the date and Stadio Artemio Franchi was the venue as one little known Montenegrin youngster made himself known to the entire world. Premier League giants Liverpool found themselves up-ended by Italian underdogs Fiorentina in the Group Stage of the UEFA Champions League thanks to a brace from Stevan Jovetic.

The striker was 20-years-old back then and had the whole world at his feet. That season, he would go on to score a total of 11 goals and notch up 11 assists over the entire campaign to give the world of football another gem to covet.

A move to a bigger club was always on the cards for Jovetic, and it finally came for him in the summer of 2013 when our very own Manchester City decided to take a punt on the young talent. Fast forward to two years since then, and Jovetic has been announced as an Inter Milan player after leaving England on an 18-month loan deal that has an option for a permanent transfer.

So, where did it all go wrong for one of the finest footballers Montenegro has ever produced? The answer is not too difficult to find as a series of major injuries definitely curtailed the youngster’s progress. Jovetic missed the entire 2010-2011 season after a cruciate ligament injury during pre-season ruled him out for the whole campaign. He made his comeback to football just the next season though and thoroughly impressed once again after netting 14 times in all competitions. This record convinced City to splash nearly 22 million pounds on him, but how was the club to know that the player’s unfortunate injury record was to return once again.

Jovetic had to endure a very slow start to life in England and a series of injuries right in the middle of the season did him no good. Ultimately, he scored five goals from a mere 16 appearances that year and already the alarm bells about him were ringing. His second season for City was no better as he managed to score a meagre six goals even though he made 26 appearances in all competitions. Jovetic’s season finished more than a month before it did for everyone else as the forward once again succumbed to injury that ruled him out for the last month of the campaign.

Overall, the former Fiorentina frontman had to endure a very fruitless tenure with Manchester City that was repeatedly hampered by a number of niggling injuries that did not give him a shot at regular game time. On top of that, having the likes of Sergio Aguero, Alvaro Negredo, Edin Dzeko and Wilfried Bony all breathing down his neck and competing for a starting berth cannot be the ideal place for a fledgling youngster to make a name for himself.

At this point of time, all I can say is that the writing was always on the wall for Jovetic who could not establish himself as a regular even after two seasons with us. It is disappointing for us Cityzens and the player himself, who arrived to such a frenzy, that it had to end in this way, but then again, transfers are all about luck aren’t they? And right now, all we can hope for is that Jovetic himself and our club has more luck than we had previously.