From Frankfurt reject to outscoring Messi - Meet LA Galaxy star striker Dejan Joveljić
It was the 56th minute between the Whitecaps and the LA Galaxy when Gabriel Pec broke into the box. The Brazilian winger saw his shot stopped by Vancouver keeper Yohei Takaoka but Dejan Joveljić was there to put away the rebound to open the scoring. The Galaxy would ultimately win the clash between the two best teams in the West 3-1, and for Joveljić it was the sixth goal in his eighth Major League Soccer game this season.
“Nothing has changed personally,” Joveljić said after the game in an exclusive interview with Transfermarkt. “I mean obviously we brought on some players. I don’t want to say that we had a bad team last year. But we create more, we play better, and if you create chances, I will score and if we don’t create chances we will not score. It is as simple as that.” Joveljić was quick to credit the arrival of record signings Gabriel Pec and Joseph Paintsil this offseason for his explosion in form. “It is amazing,” Joveljić said. “I am delighted to play with them, especially with Riqui Puig behind us.”
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Another person who has been delighted with Joveljić’s goalscoring record has been Galaxy head coach Greg Vanney. “I think he has come a long way,” Vanney said exclusively to Transfermarkt. Before underlying the work that has made Joveljić a more impactful striker this season. “We’re trying to work with him just on how to stay connected to the group, especially when we’re in possession and building up for our attacks and final actions. We try to keep him involved in the right places and right times and try to teach him when to start the break and get into the position to score. Because he is a very good finisher.” In fact, the goal against the Whitecaps is a case study of what Vanney means when he talks about having his striker involved until the very end of an attacking play.
Dejan Joveljić – From Frankfurt reject to MLS top goalscorer
That goal against the Whitecaps has put Joveljić at the very top of the MLS goalscoring chart together with Inter Miami CF star Luis Suárez, Real Salt Lake striker Cristian Arango, New York Red Bulls winger Lewis Morgan and D.C. United center-forward Christian Benteke. Joveljić is also one goal ahead of MLS superstar Lionel Messi. Indeed, if Joveljić maintains his goalscoring pace of 0.75 goals per game, the 24-year-old Serbian could finish the season with 25.5 goals, more than enough to shatter his single-season goalscoring record as a senior player of 17 goals scored for Wolfsberger AC in the Austrian Bundesliga in 2020/21 or his 11 goals in MLS during the 2022 season.
Joveljić’s Transfermarkt profile also reveals, however, that goalscoring was always in the Serbian striker’s DNA. Back in 2018, Joveljić scored 44 goals in 21 games for Red Star Belgrade's U19. That record underlined why, in 2016, Joveljić was nominated for The Guardian's Best Young Talents in World Football Next Generation Award. It also spurred on Frankfurt to sign the then 19-year-old striker for €4m from Red Star as a potential replacement for his countryman Luka Jović. Jović was sold for €63m to Real Madrid that summer, and Joveljić nods his head when asked whether the burden of having to replace the Bundesliga superstar was perhaps too much for a young player.
“When I came to Frankfurt, I was very young,” Joveljić said. “I was 19 and not ready for that level, to be honest.” Would that move be easier now? “For sure,” Joveljić said. “I have a lot more experience. I was one year on loan in Austria, where I scored 20 goals [across all competitions], but a new coach [Oliver Glasner] and a new sporting director [Markus Krösche] arrived [in Frankfurt], and they said I could leave, and I was okay with that. I then had an offer from France and one from the LA Galaxy, and I only had one club in mind, and that was the Galaxy, and I never regretted that move.” Why MLS and not Ligue 1? “It was simple,” Joveljić said. “The French league has a lot of good athletes, but it isn’t a league with many goals. It is hard fought and close. On the other side, I had MLS and the USA where you have more opportunities in a good league with incredible stadiums and incredible fans. It was simple.”
Joveljić headed back to Europe? “Thank you coach but I am happy here”
Now in his third season with the Galaxy, Joveljić seems to be finally unleashing his full potential, justifying his €3.5m move from Frankfurt. A big part of this is the fact that the Galaxy have added new stars. But his head coach believes that Joveljić can be even better. “He is getting better all the time,” Vanney said. “He works his tail off in training and he is a guy that will sit and look at video and watch to make sure we can clean up things. So, I think the effort is there on his part and with us setting up better chances for him, which he also benefits from.”
What is Joveljić's ceiling? “Confidence is such a big thing for a striker,” Vanney said. “I hope he keeps scoring goals here. I know he wants to go back to Europe at some point and see how that works, and if he keeps showing it here and scoring goals, then those opportunities will come.” Joveljić laughed when confronted with that statement by his head coach. “Thank you coach, but I am happy here.”
Indeed, after a tumultuous time in Frankfurt with the loan stint to Austria mixed in, Joveljić looks like a player who has truly settled into the Southern California lifestyle. But even though Los Angeles has become home, the Serbian hasn’t entirely written off Europe. “Hopefully, I can score many goals and have some offers from Europe, but I want also to say that I am very happy here, and I do see myself here for the next few years,” Joveljić concludes.
- Date of birth/Age:
- Aug 7, 1999 (24)
-
Nat.:
- Current club:
- Los Angeles Galaxy
- Contract until:
- Dec 31, 2025
- Position:
- Centre-Forward
- Market Value:
- €3.00m
- Total Market Value:
- €52.63m
- Competition:
- Major League Soccer
- Manager:
- Greg Vanney
- Squad size:
- 27
- Latest Transfer:
- Carlos Garcés
