Arsenal are the only club to have shown concrete interest in signing Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic this month, with Mikel Arteta the driving force behind a potential deal.
Juventus are on the verge of securing an agreement to sign Paris Saint-Germain striker Randal Kolo Muano on loan, who is already training with the Turin-based club.
Once that deal is fully ratified, TEAMtalk understands Juventus will consider selling Vlahovic for the right price, but they will demand a big fee.
The Italian side are adamant it will take around €65million (£55m / $67.3m) to sign Vlahovic this month. As things stand, the only team to have taken concrete steps for the 24-year-old Serbian international is Arsenal.
Sources close to the situation say Vlahovic is ‘Arteta’s favourite’ and he has identified him as a top target to strengthen the attack, in the wake of the serious injury to Gabriel Jesus.
However, as we have previously reported, Arsenal would like a significant discount from Juventus to consider a permanent transfer this month, similar to what happened with Liverpool and Federico Chiesa.
Vlahovic, for his part, is only under contract until 2026 and is open to taking on a new challenge elsewhere, hence why Arsenal are very attentive to the situation.
Arsenal could make late move for Vlahovic – sources
Juventus are unwilling to budge on their valuation of Vlahovic, at least until Kolo Muani’s arrival in Turin is fully confirmed. As mentioned, the PSG star is already training with Juventus and manager Thiago Motta has been very impressed so far.
That is why Arsenal is being patient with Vlahovic. They are monitoring the situation closely and could make a move late in this month’s transfer window, to convince Juventus to let him go for a lower price.
This won’t be easy, however, as apart from Kolo Muani Juventus have no real striker alternatives. Nico Gonzalez has played in that position this season but has generally struggled in that role, as he’s usually a winger.
Should Juventus decide to sell Vlahovic this month they want a replacement lined up first, even if he doesn’t figure in Motta’s long-term plans, so there are a number of obstacles to a deal for Arsenal.
The Gunners have made signing a new striker one of their priorities for this month and while Vlahovic is at the top of Arteta’s shortlist, there are a number of other options being looked at.
The next few days will be crucial in determining Vlahovic’s future and it’ll be interesting to see whether Arsenal test Juventus’ resolve with a concrete bid, after already making several enquiries.
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Motta has made signing a new left-back one of his priorities for this month. Juventus have also made enquiries for Chelsea duo Ben Chilwell and Renato Veiga.
Given Arsenal’s interest in Vlahovic, it will be interesting to see if Juventus explore a deal that could involve Tavares joining them and the striker going the other way.
Lazio, however, are determined to keep Tavares and at this stage it’s unclear whether Arsenal can recall Tavares from his loan to send him elsewhere, without getting approval from the Rome side.
In other news, Arsenal have reportedly made a move for Hoffenheim attacking midfielder Tom Bischof but are set to miss out on his signing.
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