Bordeaux have sent out 22-year-old defender Vukaşin Jovanović for his second successive loan spell away from the club. Jovanović is headed to Turkey, where he’ll be hoping to make more of an impact following an uneventful stint in Spain with SD Eibar. The Serbian centre-back’s standing in Bordeaux has fallen slightly over the last few months, but some solid performances in the Süper Lig with new club Antalyaspor could reinvigorate the defender’s career.
Originally of Belgrade, Jovanović has been on the books of Ligue 1 side Bordeaux since 2017 when he signed permanently from Zenit Saint Petersburg for €3m. The investment made in Jovanović was instigated more so because of his potential ability than any impressive first team performances. In fact, the Serbian defender only ever played for Zenit’s reserve side, having failed to make a single senior appearance for the Russian club.
Although Jovanović was not able to gain significant top-level experience during his time in Russia, he has seen much more first team action in France. The centre-back has made 25 total appearances for Bordeaux despite his time in the southern city being broken up by various transfers.
Jovanović spent the second half of the 2016/17 season on loan to Bordeaux before signing permanently with the club just weeks after the expiry of his loan contract. Southern France became the Serb’s home in July of 2017, but Jovanović was quickly uprooted again for his unsuccessful loan to Eibar.
While the Serbian defender’s time in Eibar was largely fruitless, joining Antalyaspor could be just what Jovanović needs. He has shown an ability to quickly adapt to new surroundings and his defensive capabilities will be under less scrutiny in a league that doesn’t boast the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
