With Massimiliano Allegri returning to the helm, almost everyone got manipulated and started thinking that Juventus might be back to where they belong — at the pinnacle of Italy’s premier division.
However, following the poor start to the domestic season, it feels as if the anticipation after Allegri’s arrival at Turin was indeed far-fetched.
This time, the five-time Scudetto winner with Juventus inherited a team dealing with severe issues — from players being inconsistent to the club being financially sabotaged. Due to the serious implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Old Lady was compelled to spend an inferior amount of money in the summer transfer window.
As a result, they only brought in Kaio Jorge, Manuel Locatelli, Mohamed Ihattaren, and Moise Kean from the 2021 summer transfer window. What did they lose? Cristiano Ronaldo — the machine who scored 29 goals from 33 Serie A games last season.
Now, what do Juve have in terms of pure goalscorers? Without putting too much faith in young Kaio Jorge, it’s the pair of Alvaro Morata and Moise Kean that remains.
While Morata in front of the goal is a dilemma, Moise Kean, on the other hand, is reliable, and has proved his mettle at various levels in the recent past. However, he’s unlikely to return the same number as Cristiano Ronaldo for Juventus.
So who could replace the irreplaceable at Juventus?
The easy guess is Dušan Vlahović. The Fiorentina striker took Serie A by storm last season, scoring 21 goals from 37 appearances — 2,923 minutes of football — for a team battling relegation at a time. Juventus have shown interest in Vlahović for a long time.
Compared with Erling Haaland by some close observers of the Serbian forward, Vlahović, also left-footed, is regarded as an ideal candidate to lead the forward line for I Bianconeri.
❗️| Juventus will try to sign Fiorentina striker Vlahovic in January ahead of next summer, despite rumors he could sign a possible renewal with the Viola. (@86_longo)
— JuveFC (@juvefcdotcom) September 14, 2021
According to Daniele Longo (via @juvefcdotcom Twitter), Juventus will try to sign Vlahović in the next January transfer window. But surely that won’t be an easy task since the 21-year-old is in talks to pen a new contract extension with La Viola.
What is Vlahović’s stance on a transfer?
On the back of scoring two goals against Atalanta last weekend, Vlahović explained his decision to stay put at Fiorentina amid interest from European heavyweights such as Tottenham Hotspur and Atletico Madrid.
He said (via Football Italia):
"“I said many times that I decided to stay in Florence, nobody else had to decide for me. When the coach arrived, and the squad we put together, it’s good. At the end of the season, we will see if it proved to be the right decision, but I followed my heart.“I am young, my moment will come and I just need to continue working like this.”"
When asked about any update on his possible contract extension with Fiorentina, Vlahovic, reflecting a slight grin on his face, admitted:
"“We are talking, that is all I can say.”"
What is next?
As per Fabrizio Romano, Atletico Madrid offered a transfer fee of around €60m for the Serb in the summer. However, Fiorentina didn’t feel tempted by the enormous fee and it seems that it’ll take a monster offer and effort from Juventus to persuade the Florence-based club to sell their one of the best assets, if not the best.
Vlahovic will continue to score more goals and extend his market value altogether. He’s scored three from three to start the Serie A season.
There are reports also claiming that the new contract for the striker at Fiorentina could include an attainable release clause. Even so, Juventus will have to break the bank to secure the sharpshooter’s services.