Arsenal have been handed a major boost in their pursuit of Dusan Vlahovic with Fiorentina now ready to cash-in on the sought-after striker this month, according to Calciomercato.
Mikel Arteta has confirmed the Gunners hierarchy are working hard to strengthen their squad this month as he looks to get the club back into Europe next season and a new striker is a top priority.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s future at the Emirates Stadium is in serious doubt as he’s been frozen out by Arteta since being stripped of the captaincy in November following a series of disciplinary breaches.
Alexandre Lacazette is in the final six months of his contract at Arsenal and is no closer to signing an extension while Eddie Nketiah is also set to walk away on a free transfer when his current deal expires at the end of the season.
Therefore, Arsenal could be about to lose their three first choice strikers over the coming months so it’s no surprise Arteta is desperately trying to strengthen his attacking options during the January transfer window.
Vlahovic has been strongly linked with a move to Arsenal this month with The Athletic reporting last week that the north Londoners are leading the race to sign the Fiorentina hitman after identifying him as a top target.
The Gunners have now been handed a big boost as Calciomercato claims that Fiorentina have decided now is the best time to cash-in on Vlahovic as the striker has just 18 months left on his contract and has made it clear he won’t be signing an extension.
Huge interest
Fiorentina know this is there last chance to demand a sizeable fee before the 21-year-old’s value drops in the summer when he’ll have just 12 months left on his deal and CBS Sports suggest they value Vlahovic at around £62m [$85m].
Calciomercato says Arsenal have already submitted an offer worth £41m [€50m] plus Lucas Torreira in exchange for Vlahovic but they may have to dig a little deeper if they want to get a deal agreed.
Not only that, but the Gunners will also face stiff competition as the Italian outlet says the likes of Juventus, Tottenham, Newcastle, Bayern Munich, PSG, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid are also showing a keen interest in the player.
As it stands, Arsenal are the only club who have reportedly tabled an offer so they could still be well positioned to win the race for the Serbian international’s signature and he’d be an excellent signing if Arteta could pull it off.
The 6ft 3in striker is one of the hottest young talents in Europe having scored 18 goals in 22 games in all competitions so far this season so it would be a major coup if Arsenal could lure him to the Emirates this month.
