Arsenal have made a £58.5m [€70m] bid for Dusan Vlahovic and Fiorentina are prepared to accept the offer after growing tired of the strikers behaviour, according to reports via the Metro.
Mikel Arteta is in the market for reinforcements this month as a combination of players being away at the AFCON, injuries, covid and suspensions has left the Gunners boss with just 11 players available for selection. The crisis has led to Arsenal requesting that Sunday’s North London Derby with Tottenham is postponed.
Arteta is now desperately trying to bring in new additions with a striker a top priority as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s future at the Emirates Stadium is in serious doubt. The Gabon hitman hasn’t played for Arsenal since being axed from the squad and stripped of the captaincy in November.
Alexandre Lacazette could also be on the move as his contract expires in June and the Frenchman is no closer to signing an extension while Eddie Nketiah is also expected to depart when his current deal runs out at the end of the season.
It means Arsenal could be about to lose their three main strikers over the coming months so Arteta is determined to bring in another option this winter and Vlahovic has been widely touted as his prime target in recent weeks.
It looks like Arsenal have now formalised their interest in the Serbian international as the Metro are citing a report from La Repubblica that claims the Gunners have submitted an offer worth £58.5m [€70m].
Firm offer
The Italian outlet says Fiorentina are prepared to accept Arsenal’s offer as they’ve decided to cash-in on Vlahovic this month after becoming frustrated by the behaviour of the player and his agents.
Vlahovic has just 18 months left on his contract and he’s so far refused to sign an extension so Fiorentina know this is the last time they can command a sizeable fee before his value starts to drop when he enters the final 12 months of his contract this summer.
Arsenal are the only club to have put forward a formal offer so are in the driving seat to win the race for his signature, however, the Gunners still have to convince Vlahovic to make a move to north London.
According to La Repubblica, while the 21-year-old is flattered by Arsenal’s interest and their tempting offer, he would prefer to wait until the summer to have his pick of clubs with several other top European teams expected to be interested at the end of the season.
Vlahovic has developed into one of the hottest young talents in Europe having scored 18 goals in 22 games this season so he’d be a terrific signing if Arsenal could pull it off, but it seems there is still much work to be done before a deal gets over the line.
