Dusan Vlahovic has been in red-hot form since Juve’s FIFA Club World Cup campaign ended, and he recently netted the winner for Serbia during the UEFA World Cup qualifiers.
There’s been a complete U-turn at the Bianconeri about the 25-year-old, who has finished as the club’s top scorer every season since his mega bucks move from Fiorentina in January 2022.
Vlahovic turned down the opportunity to join Arsenal three years ago, instead favoring Juventus.
Although he has not always endeared himself to the fans over the years, Vlahovic is a workhorse whose physical presence has paid dividends over his two-and-a-half Serie A campaigns in a Juve jersey.
The Bianconeri were keen to trim their wage bill by cashing in on Vlahovic during the summer, but he rejected AC Milan as well as offers to ply his trade in the Saudi Pro League and Turkish Super Lig.
Serie A's highest earner
His whopping annual contract of €12 million (US$14.1m), making him the top earner at the club and in Serie A, expires next June. This opens a plethora of transfer possibilities for Vlahovic.
Brief pre-season appearances saw him continue to grab goals, and he has been on target in both Serie A matches this term after arriving off the bench to replace July’s signing Jonathan David.
His rich vein of form continued by netting the only goal of the closely-fought World Cup qualifier in Latvia, but he received no service whatsoever when a makeshift England team destroyed Serbia in Belgrade this week.
Playing against England as the lone striker presented him with the chance to show Premier League managers of his talents, but Serbia were annihilated on home soil.
Rejected Rossoneri retain interest
Although AC Milan remain keen to secure his signature in the next two transfer windows, being reunited with former Juventus boss Max Allegri at the Rossoneri is looking less likely.
The two never enjoyed a formidable professional partnership, but wily Allegri truly appreciates Vlahovic’s goal-scoring talents.
Inter Milan, who share the San Siro Stadium with AC Milan, showed interest in landing Vlahovic during the summer.
Yet that cooled down as the Nerazzurri signed France U21 marksman Ange-Yoan Bonny from Parma and brought Francesco Pio Esposito back from his season-long loan at Serie B outfit Spezia.
Bonny followed newly-installed head coach Cristian Chivu from the Gialloblu, who replaced former Juve managerial target Simone Inzaghi.
Esposito is an Inter Youth Academy graduate, who recently got a call-up for the Azzurri. He played the last six minutes during Italy’s 5-0 hammering of Estonia in the World Cup qualifiers on 5 September, but three days later was an unused substitute for the topsy-turvy 5-4 victory against Israel in Hungary.
Juventus could start with Vlahovic
Whether Vlahovic will start Saturday’s Derby d’Italia when Inter visit the cauldron of Turin’s Allianz Stadium remains to be seen. He could not be blamed for failing to find the net against England.
Yet his new Juve team-mate David looked mediocre against Wales, and like Vlahovic did not score in his last international.
Juventus manager Igor Tudor is likely to stick with David, preferring to stick to one target man with his tried and tested tactical formation. Although the Croatian could spring a surprise with a 3-5-2 to pair his attackers for the first time.
David is a goal poacher, who can strike from tight angles, while industrious Vlahovic goes for precision rather than power and has a never-say-die attitude.
Inter Milan target Vlahovic again
With speculation about Inter’s renewed pursuit of Vlahovic, Nerazzurri president Beppe Marotta should be able to watch first hand the club’s latest top target this weekend. He is a huge fan of signing players as free agents.
Vlahovic’s steep salary should not be an issue, as Inter could push to make a pre-summer signing on a free transfer as early as February.
The ball is in Juve’s court as to how Tudor will utilize Vlahovic, who fell out of favor with the boss at the Club World Cup and that made Juventus look lost without a hungry striker.
If he continues to regularly bang in the goals, whether as a starter or in his latest supersub, the dilemma is whether the club will try to extend his contract on the same high wages.
Talks stalled about a new deal when Juventus offered a greatly reduced salary, which caused a rift between Vlahovic with the club and ultimately the fans.
Vlahovic risks losing big loyalty bonus
As Vlahovic is hitting his peak years, and knows his value to Juve or a rival Serie A club, it appears that he will not accept a much lower wage unless he can be a team that have a chance to win silverware. There’s also the dangling carrot of the chance to net a €4m loyalty bonus if he extends his contract.
Juventus may be joint Serie A leaders with reigning champions Napoli after two games, but their squad appears depleted overall. Their deadline day transfers were a gamble, yet could pay dividends with the acquisition of Lois Openda and Edon Zhegrova.
Combined with numerous players feeling unsettled because they were placed on the transfer list during the summer, although that has not fazed Vlahovic, things may not unfold as the club would like.
Being in with a shout of winning the Scudetto still appears ambitious, but a top-four finish is a realistic goal for Juventus to seal top European action next term. Their Champions League draw has proved more favorable than their Serie A rivals, with progress to the knockout stages providing excitement for fans and big bucks for the club.
Vlahovic's input for both the Italian top tier and in the Champions League is a make-or-break deal, and will determine whether he decides to stay at the Bianconeri, stick with Serie A or try another league to chase trophies.