Dusan Vlahovic has been heavily linked with a move to the Premier League for a couple of years now, but he seems to prefer a move to the Bundesliga
Dusan Vlahovic is reportedly keen on leaving Juventus with a move to the Premier League a possibility in the summer transfer window. Vlahovic scored 14 goals in 42 appearances across all competitions for the Italian club last term and is considered to be among the elite strikers in Europe.
Vlahovic joined Juve in January 2022 following a prolific spell with Fiorentina after snubbing a switch to the Premier League to join Arsenal. The Gunners were thought to be keen on a deal to sign the 23-year-old in January following Gabriel Jesus’ knee injury at the World Cup, but opted to sign Leandro Trossard instead.
Mauricio Pochettino wants to sign a new striker at Stamford Bridge despite already welcoming Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku to the club this summer.
So, with that being said, football.london has taken a look at the latest on the transfer saga surrounding the Serbian forward – with Chelsea and Arsenal among the clubs interested in signing the 23-year-old.
Bayern preference
According to Calciomercato, Vlahovic’s agent, Darko Ristic, is hoping Bayern Munich to make a move for his client this summer. The report states that the Serbian is also being ushered towards either Real Madrid or Atletico Madrid despite interest from the Premier League.
Vlahovic replacement
Juventus are ready to reach an agreement with Atalanta for the signing of Rasmus Hojlund if the Serbian is offloaded, according to Corriere dello Sport. The report states that the 20-year-old striker will be considered once the Old Lady see their valuation for Vlahovic met.
Chelsea bid
A report from Italian news outlet Corriere della Sera has stated that Chelsea have made their first attempt to sign Vlahovic as Pochettino continues to look for a new forward after the arrival of Jackson from Villarreal this summer. The report adds that Juve have rejected an offer of €60million (£51.5m) from the Stamford Bridge side for the ex-Fiorentina man.
According to Calciomercato, Vlahovic is eager for a new experience and his agent Darko Ristic has held talks with United, Arsenal and Chelsea over a potential move to England. Juventus are in a strong position to demand a huge transfer fee to let the 23-year-old leave the club.
The Italian outfit could be open to selling their star striker, but want a whopping £77m fee to part ways with Vlahovic.
Serious interest’
According to Italian football agent Massimo Brambati, Juventus are expected to consider offers before making a final decision on the striker’s future. In an interview on TMW Radio, Brambati said: “There are three teams that showed up.
“In my opinion, Juve will take these offers seriously. All of them have an important profile, because they’re Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid.
“I don’t know if the capital gain will be made [on Juventus’ initial £66.6million investment], but after a year and a half of Vlahovic they’ve already amortised a year’s gross salary and a good part of the amount invested too.”
Unhappy at Juventus
Juventus could be facing significant sporting sanctions with the club under investigation for alleged financial malpractice which could see their top stars leave the club. However, that is not the only reason Vlahovic could be set for a January exit with Ben Jacobs revealing the 23-year is not happy at the club.
He told GiveMeSport: “So, more important than the actual sporting sanctions is actually just the fact that it’s not thought that Vlahovic is particularly happy under Max Allegri. And because of that, I think that he is open to a move and Juventus are, at the same time, quite prepared to entertain offers and see what happens.”
United enter race
Manchester United have joined the race to sign Vlahovic, with Erik ten Hag keen to replace Cristiano Ronaldo in January. Corrierre dello Sport have claimed that the Red Devils have joined Chelsea, PSG and Bayern Munich in being Arsenal’s competitors.
United have also set to go toe-to-toe with the Gunners for PSV forward Cody Gakpo, meaning Edu faces a tough ask of getting his man.
Gunners’ stance
The Gunners were reported to have been interested in the Serbian striker last January before his move to Turin which has proved to be a success so far.
Gunners are seriously planning to swap Thomas party with him to make things easy.
However, this appears to be a non-starter given the frustrations which arose during their efforts to sign the target man during the last January window, according to Express Sport. Arsenal are reported to have been overlooked by the striker’s representatives in talks as a £62million move to Juventus was sought and this will leave a move to north London, at least in the short-term, highly unlikely.
Mikel Arteta will push for transfers, however, as he revealed after their recent friendly win against AC Milan, saying: “We are looking and we are very active looking at the possibilities. If we can find the players that can strengthen the team we will try.”
Arsenal ‘contact’
Arsenal have reportedly made contact with Dusan Vlahovic’s representatives over a possible January transfer. Reports in Italy have claimed that the Gunners have contacted the striker’s representatives to discuss a possible deal in January. Turin-based newspaper Tuttosport claim Arteta’s side are one of many clubs to ponder the striker’s future amid uncertainty over whether he’ll stay with Juventus.
The report suggests that discreet talks are alleged to have taken place during the World Cup, where Vlahovic netted in his nation’s 3-2 defeat to Switzerland.