Juventus are reportedly ready to part ways with Dusan Vlahovic, raising questions about where the Serbian striker could end up.
Arsenal, dealing with injury concerns up front, are linked—but is there more to the story?
Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic appears to be on the market this month, and his availability coincides with Arsenal‘s injury crisis in forward areas and a dip in form for starting striker Kai Havertz.
Yet the pieces might not fit together quite as nicely as it seems. David Ornstein tells The Athletic FC podcast that whilst Juventus are willing to let Vlahovic leave, there’s no suggestion they’d be open to the kind of loan Arsenal would probably want.
On top of that, Ornstein suggests Arsenal aren’t particularly interested in the move to begin with.
“It seems that Juventus are ready to part with him…but I don’t know of Juventus being ready to loan him out, they want a sale,” Ornstein explained.
“My early enquiries suggested he’s not a player they’re particularly hot on at the moment. At the time of recording, it’s not one that I think is developing.”
John Cross suggests similar doubts in his piece for the Mirror, writing that whilst Arsenal did look at Vlahovic during the summer in which they signed Gabriel Jesus, they didn’t think he was quite what they wanted.
If not then, then why now?
The 24-year-old hasn’t really kicked on with Juventus, with his 29-goal 2021/22 campaign dipping to 14 goals and 18 goals in his first two full seasons with his new club. He’s up to 12 so far in 2024/25.
Those aren’t terrible totals, but he’s yet to get near his Fiorentina form despite continuing to play in the same league. A transfer to the Premier League would be unlikely to make things easier.
Whilst other potential Arsenal targets seem to be either unaffordable or unavailable this month, Vlahovic is a player the Gunners probably could fund, playing at a club that wouldn’t mind him off the books.
Even so, the English media are yet to buy in to the idea that Mikel Arteta actually wants the Serbia international in north London.