Despite his limited playing time, Joveljic scored 19 goals and had nine assists in his first three MLS seasons. This year, with an offense built around him, Joveljic is predicting 15 goals and a playoff berth as a minimum.

So are the Galaxy, who have already spent a franchise-record $10 million transfer fee to pry winger Gabriel Pec away from Brazilian club Vasco da Gama to provide service for Joveljic. And the team is committed to adding another winger, though that addition might now be delayed until the summer transfer window.

“We think we can open up the face of the goal and allow him to be the striker I think he’s capable of being,” said Galaxy coach Greg Vanney, who determined Joveljic had earned the chance after watching him in training over the last three years.

“What we’ve said is, ‘Hey, we’re going to put pieces around you. And now you’ve got to become the goal scorer that we have seen you be. And we need you to do that over 90 minutes on a consistent basis.’ ”

Vanney really had no other choice. Not only are the Galaxy paying Joveljic more than $651,000 a season through 2025, the team has just one other forward on the roster who has played more than 80 minutes in MLS. That, too, was part of a plan to show confidence in Joveljic and keep him from looking over his shoulder because there really is no Plan B.

Now it’s up to him to prove that confidence has been well-placed and that he truly is the future of the Galaxy.

“He knows he needs to step in and be effective. It’s important for him as still a developing goal scorer to understand what those things are for him to be effective,” Vanney said. “But he should feel like this is a real opportunity for him to take the reins and to try to be that guy.”

It wouldn’t be the first time Joveljic has proven himself to others. Although he started playing chess with his father and grandfather at age 5, he said he really didn’t focus on the game until being overcome by boredom during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Working with international master Miodrag Perunovic, coach of Serbia’s reigning European championship chess team, and playing online, Joveljic quickly improved, eventually ranking among the top 7,500 players in the world. As a result, he quickly outclassed teammates Jonathan Bond and Uri Rosell, the Galaxy’s other chess aficionados last season.

“This is no chance,” he said. “It’s like I play against some guys golf. I don’t know how to play golf. It’s the same when I play chess against them.”

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