Barcelona lead chase for Bundesliga star Luka Jovic

Bengaluru, March 21: Premier League duo Arsenal and Manchester United's hopes of signing striker Luka Jovic may have received a blow after Barcelona made him their number one priority for the summer transfer window.

Both United and the Gunners have been closely watching Jovic, who has struck 22 goals in 37 appearances in all competitions for Eintracht Frankfurt this season.

The Premier League duo had earmarked the 21-year-old Serbia international as one of their transfer targets this summer. But their hopes of tempting the striker to England look set to be dashed with Barcelona now ready to go all out in their bid to take him to Spain.

Spanish media house Sport claim Jovic is the player who has jumped to the top of the Barcelona wanted list as they look to find a long-term replacement for Luiz Suarez.

At 32, the former Liverpool star still has at least one more season in him at the highest level but the La Liga champions want to bring in someone now to work with him rather than wait another year.

Also, even the biggest fans of Suarez would have to admit that his decline has started.

The need to bring in another forward was why Barcelona worked so hard to sign Antoine Griezmann 12 months ago only to be left stunned when the Frenchman opted to stay with Atletico Madrid at the last minute.

Griezmann, 27, appears to regret that decision and is understood to have contacted the club recently to apologise for snubbing them in the hope he could revive the move during the close season.

But Barcelona look to have moved on and decided that they need to bring in a younger player with the potential to play at the Nou Camp for years and Jovic is the man they want.

The forward is only on loan at Frankfurt from Benfica, but under the terms of the agreement between the two sides, the Bundesliga club have the option to sign him permanently for £12million at the end of the season.

They are ready to go through with the formalities of sealing the deal, and would then be willing to sell him straight away with a valuation set around £50m.

His availability on such terms has also seen the likes of Bayern Munich, Tottenham and Chelsea send scouts to watch him play this season. But it is Barcelona who are the clear front-runners in the race for his signature and if they follow through with a firm bid it is likely to blow away the competition.