The Serbian international, who banged in a thunderous last-minute goal against Empoli to take his Serie A tally to eight, seems to be frozen out at Juventus.
Vlahovic has swiftly fallen down the pecking order at Juve, ousted as first-choice striker since the arrival of Kolo Muani on loan from Paris Saint-Germain, and reduced to a bit part on the substitutes' bench.
Muani has hit scintillating form to notch five goals in his trio of league appearances, the fastest Juventus player to bag five Serie A goals. The French international is fast catching up Vlahovic’s total, and could soon eclipse him.
If Muani’s exploits in front of goal continue, then the 26-year-old will almost certainly be recalled by the Ligue 1 leaders in the summer and not sold. That would leave a huge gap for head coach Motta to fill.
Yet Joshua Zirkzee, who played under Motta at Bologna before signing for Manchester United last July, could be a potential swap deal for Vlahovic in the summer to fill the potential empty boots of Muani.
Zirkzee bagged a dozen goals in 37 appearances for Bologna under Motta last season. His career at United has been a stop-start affair. He was a substitute and scored against Leicester City in Friday’s FA Cup 2-1 triumph, which added to his three Premier League goals this term.
Rumours were swirling during the winter transfer window that Zirkzee would be sent packing to compete in Serie A. His former club Bologna, a reunion with Motta in Turin and Antonio Conte’s Napoli were all in the running to take the 23-year-old on loan with an obligation to buy.
The Dutch forward does not appear to fit into the plans of United head coach Ruben Amorim, who is seeking a top-class striker during the summer as part of his revamp.
If United fail to secure the signature of forward Liam Delap, who only joined Ipswich Town from Manchester City in July, then Amorim has Vlahovic as a possible back-up plan.
English clubs Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur had been heavily linked with a January transfer move for Vlahovic. No bids were tabled due to the high asking price and trying to come anywhere near his salary requirements.
Vlahovic, who reportedly earns €12 million (US$12.5m) a season, has fallen off the radar of these clubs except United.
Motta needed Vlahovic sold before the Bianconeri could commit to bringing in a replacement like Zirkzee. Vlahovic stayed put, and seems destined to stay relegated to the bench for the rest of the season. A starting berth only appears likely if there’s a set of injuries to other strikers.
Yet Arsenal and Chelsea still require a forward in the summer so could always make a U-turn about Vlahovic. While Spurs have recently signed 19-year-old striker Mathys Tel on loan from Bayern Munich.
The Gunners failed to bring in a striker during the winter transfer window. They offered to buy Vlahovic three years ago, but he chose to move from Fiorentina to Juventus instead, which won’t have gone down too well with the Arsenal board.
Arsenal should be in the hunt for a prolific marksman during the summer with their shortlist now comprising Sporting Lisbon’s Viktor Gyokeres, Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane and Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez. Interest in Vlahovic from the Gunners, second in the English Premier League, appears to have waned.
Moneybags Chelsea, who are constantly linked with any in-form striker, are apparently monitoring AFC Bournemouth’s striker Antoine Semenyo. Talk of Vlahovic going to the Blues has ground to a sudden halt.
Ailing Manchester United, who are struggling for consistency and results, have offloaded winger Antony to Real Betis and former England striker Marcus Rashford on loan to Aston Villa.
Their interest in Vlahovic, or even Juve’s attacking midfielder Douglas Luiz, as a swap and cash deal in the summer will only continue if the Belgrade-born 25-year-old gets minutes under his belt.
Turkish teenager Kenan Yildiz, who sports the coveted no10 jersey for the Bianconeri and is expected to be the next big thing, was given the nod over Vlahovic to tackle Como. The 19-year-old sat behind the shoulder of Muani, but the hosts were swift to snuff out any danger in the dreary match.
Only a piece of sheer brilliance from Muani to open the scoring, and his last-gasp penalty, saved Motta’s men from what could have been a humiliating result on Friday night with a 2-1 triumph over Como.
Vlahovic spent the entire match warming the bench, and didn’t even warm up when Motta decided to make a tactical move by withdrawing Yildiz midway through the second half.
The Bianconeri were clearly in desperate need of another goal, as they were getting outplayed. Up stepped 21-year-old forward Samuel Mbangula, who made his 10th Serie A substitute appearance for Juve.
Vlahovic falling out of favour with Motta is one thing. Yet the board will surely apply pressure on their head coach, because if he constantly sits on the bench and fails to play regularly, then Vlahovic’s selling on value will take a nosedive. His contract expires in summer 2026, so the club will want to cash in on.
Vlahovic is clearly unhappy being reduced to a bit part with the Turin giants. If he is going to be overlooked by Motta then he won’t be the asset that the club needs to make a profit, and that would be a problem. Especially as any potential swap deal would then mean his value is pretty low.