With uncertainty over Dusan Vlahovic’s Juve future, due to his lucrative contract at the Turin titans that makes the 25-year-old the highest-paid player in Serie A, the club are seeking his replacement.
Vlahovic will already have had his nose put out of joint by the arrival of goal poacher David, who arrived as a free agent this month.
Talks have stalled between Juventus and Vlahovic about a contract extension, because the club proposed a substantial drop in salary. The Serbia international is adamant that he prefers to ply his trade in the cash-rich Premier League, rather than join a rival Serie A club like AC Milan.
Villarreal are monitoring his situation, and could prove to be his escape route. Vlahovic constantly turns down approaches from admirers in both the Saudi Pro League and Turkish Super Lig.
His ridiculously generous annual salary of €12 million (US$14m), and a substantial transfer fee has so far deterred English top tier teams.
Although his representatives did meet Premier League clubs last week, there were no concrete offers tabled. Maybe that had something to do with the fact that he becomes a free agent next summer, meaning that Vlahovic would cost his next club nothing.
Speculation that Arsenal, Aston Villa, Manchester United or Newcastle United and other Premier League clubs could be his next destination remain just rumors.
Switch from Vlahovic interest
Manchester United, Newcastle and Villa seem to be turning their attention from Vlahovic to Juventus target Kolo Muani, who enjoyed a successful second half of the season loan with the Bianconeri.
United has identified Muani as a priority target for the striker position after his compatriot Hugo Ekitike rejected them to undertake advanced talks with Liverpool.
Newcastle are exploring Muani as a possible replacement for Alexander Isak, who is attracting Saudi Arabia sides.
Villa were interested in acquiring the former French international during the winter transfer market, but instead he opted for Serie A. They are considering Muani as a potential successor to Ollie Watkins, who is rumored to be on the move this summer.
Muani is not part of Paris Saint-Germain’s plans, with the French champions willing to sell him for at least €40 million (US$46.5m).
His stint at Juve started slowly under Igor Tudor, who initially picked Vlahovic to lead the attack. He earned a vote of confidence to net eight goals in 19 games and was preferred as the target man for three of the four matches during Juve’s labored Club World Cup campaign.
Second coming on the cards
The no-nonsense Croatian is desperate to bolster the squad he inherited, but the club are only willing to bring Muani back on a season-long loan with the option to buy him for €30m (US$34.9m).
Like the stalemate with Vlahovic’s exit, Juventus are suffering an impasse with PSG over Muani.
Although the 26-year-old goal-getter would be keen to return to Juventus, having adapted well last term, his situation should become much clearer next month.
PSG is a complex organization with a plethora of different working groups dedicated to various aspects of the club’s activities, with transfer ins and outs set to be fully discussed in early August.
PSG's goal is to cash in
The French giants forked out €75m (US$87.2m) to sign Muani from Eintracht Frankfurt in September 2023, so loaning him out for a season without a guaranteed sale could be off-putting.
Juve general manager Damien Cobolli is particularly eager to encourage Muani to tackle a second season for the Italian powerhouse, and will try to convince the center forward about the club’s short-term and long-term ambitions.
Cash-strapped Juventus remain in a perilous position about making substantial financial commitments, unless they can offload a number of their unwanted players.