Arsenal could finally sign Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic in a cut-price deal as he is set to be made available by the Serie A giants in the January transfer window, according to the Daily Express.
The newspaper claims that the Gunners offered a whopping £88m for the 23-year-old in January 2022 when he was at Fiorentina. However, the striker snubbed a potential move to North London as back then, Arsenal weren’t as an attractive proposition as they are now.
The Gunners had just finished eighth and weren’t in any European competition, so Vlahovic opted to complete a move to Juventus instead. The report says Juve paid £66m plus add-ons for the Serbian international.
Vlahovic has struggled to make a huge impact at Allianz Stadium since joining the Old Lady. Prior to his move to Massimiliano Allegri’s side, he was regarded as one of the best forwards in Italy following his impressive goalscoring exploits for Fiorentina.
He racked up 108 appearances, scored 49 times, and recorded eight assists across all competitions during his four years at Artemio Franchi Stadium. The Serbia helped Fiorentina clinch Coppa Italia Primavera in his debut season. He was adjudged Serie A Best Young Player in the 2020/21 season.
The forward won the Coppa Italia top scorer award with four goals in 2021/22 and was named in Serie A Team of the Year in the same campaign. At Juventus, he has 25 goals and seven assists in 66 games in all competitions.
Last season, he made 18 goal contributions in 42 games as Juve missed out on the Champions League football after being deducted 10 points. Vlahovic has been fine-form this term with two goals and an assist in three games for Juventus.
Cheap price
According to the Daily Express, Vlahovic’s wages will automatically increase to £10m net per season from next year and Juve are now keen to get his salary off their books.
The report says Juve had initially hoped to make a profit on the £66m they paid 18 months ago, however, they know that is highly unlikely and the Serie A giants could be forced to accept a cut-price deal in January.
The Express says that this could alert Arsenal and they suggest that the North Londoners could finally get their hands on Vlahovic this winter.
Mikel Arteta had been tipped to bring in another forward during the summer window but failed to get any deal over the line before deadline day. The Spanish coach could now renew his interest in Vlahovic as the Serbian would provide something different up front and he’d offer competition for Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah.
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