Fulham forward Aleksandar Mitrovic says Serbia team-mate Luka Jovic is in crisis at Real Madrid.
Jovic has scored just twice since his €60million (£52m) summer switch from Eintracht Frankfurt, although the 22-year-old has played only 770 minutes for Los Blancos so far and seen two efforts ruled out by VAR.
"He's in a sort of crisis," Mitrovic told Butasport. "When you are a striker, the most important thing is to be on the pitch. I don't think he has had many opportunities.
"I was in that situation at Newcastle. You only have five, 10, 15 minutes, and in the time you try and do what you can to prove your worth, especially when you have cost a lot of money. You want to do everything and it burns you out."
But Mitrovic believes Jovic, who was in trouble last month for skipping social distancing regulations on a night out in Belgrade, will show his quality when given the chance.
"He just needs minutes," he said. "I'm convinced that if he plays a few whole games, the goals will arrive. He has to keep working and believing in himself, keep training and the rest will come.
"That said, goals are like ketchup: when you shake it, you don't score, but after that you get more than you expected. He has to be persistent and not give up.
"He really has everything to be a tremendous striker. Playing for Real Madrid brings a lot of pressure, responsibility and all that, but he is young and he has a lot of seasons and football ahead."
