BREAKING: Juventus are open to selling potent striker Dusan Vlahovic to Arsenal after the Italian side indicated that they want one of Mikel Arteta’s player for exchange- Both players are ready to swap clubs- Mikel Arteta is more than ‘excited’ to welcome his new striker
BREAKING: Juventus are open to selling potent striker Dusan Vlahovic to Arsenal after the Italian side indicated that they want one of Mikel Arteta’s player for exchange- Both players are ready to swap clubs- Mikel Arteta is more than ‘excited’ to welcome his new striker
Juventus ‘open to Dusan Vlahovic swap deal with Arsenal
Italian giants Juventus are supposedly open to sanctioning Dusan Vlahovic’s exit to Arsenal or Chelsea in 2024 as part of a swap deal.
The Old Lady engaged in a fierce head-to-head with the Gunners for the Serbian’s signature in January 2022, having witnessed Vlahovic excel in a Fiorentina shirt.
The 23-year-old ultimately snubbed interest from Arsenal to move to Massimiliano Allegri’s side, but he has failed to recapture the form that convinced Juve to pay €81.6m (£71.1m) for his services.
Since swapping La Viola for the Bianconeri, Vlahovic has managed 27 goals and seven assists in 69 games for Juventus, including four strikes from his opening four games of the 2023-24 Serie A season.
However, the striker then drew blanks against Sassuolo and Lecce last month, and he has missed Juve’s last two league fixtures against Atalanta BC and Torino with a back injury.
Amid his struggles in black and white, Vlahovic continues to be strongly linked with a switch to the Premier League, but he remains under contract until 2026 and is reportedly in line for a renewal in Turin.
Nevertheless, a report from TuttoJuve – via football.london – claims that Juventus would be prepared to let Vlahovic depart in 2024 and would be happy to accept a player or two in a part-exchange transaction.
Arsenal and Chelsea are believed to be the two main suitors for Vlahovic’s signature, while Real Madrid – who are yet to sign a permanent successor to Karim Benzema – could also throw their hat into the ring.
Juventus sporting director Cristiano Giuntioli recently confirmed that Chelsea submitted a bid for Vlahovic’s services over the summer, but the Blue did not reach their asking price, believed to be in the region of €80m (£69.7m).
A player-plus-cash deal involving Romelu Lukaku was also mooted, but such a move did not come to fruition either, and the Belgian eventually joined Roma on a season-long loan deal.
With Kai Havertz also exiting for Arsenal, Chelsea brought Christopher Nkunku and Nicolas Jackson to West London in the summer, but the former is yet to make his competitive debut owing to a severe knee injury.
Meanwhile, Jackson has been guilty of wasting several gilt-edged opportunities in the early weeks of the season, and Mauricio Pochettino’s desire to add another marksman to his ranks is no secret.
Despite mainly being deployed up front for Chelsea, Havertz has been morphed into a midfielder for Arsenal, who have Eddie Nketiah and Gabriel Jesus vying for the right to lead the line.
However, Jesus has struggled with injuries and has also been deployed out wide to cover for the injured Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli, while Nketiah has failed to score more than five goals in a single Premier League season.
Vlahovic is not believed to be a priority target for Arsenal, though, as the Gunners are instead focusing their efforts on a deal for Brentford’s Ivan Toney, who returns from his lengthy betting suspension in January.