Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has now marked Dusan Vlahovic of Juventus as his top striker target for the January window despite him rejecting a possible transfer before.
That is according to Football Transfers, which claims that Arteta would still jump at a chance to sign Vlahovic. The Arsenal boss remains a huge fan of the 23-year-old and would still love the opportunity to sign him. Even though he snubbed the Gunners to join Juventus in 2022.
Arteta had sought to lure Vlahovic to Emirates Stadium whilst the Serbian still plied his trade at Fiorentina. But the centre-forward snubbed the Spaniard’s advances to sign with Juventus for an initial £58.5m. Performance-related add-ons can see the Old Lady owe up to £66.5m.
Arteta still loves Vlahovic despite rejecting Arsenal to join Juventus
Injury problems and a change of system have seen Vlahovic occasionally struggle since Juve sealed his signature. The 23-cap international has scored 27 and assisted seven goals from 72 appearances across all competitions. He has four goals in nine matches so far this term.
Yet Vlahovic remains Arteta’s top target to give Arsenal a new striker option in the upcoming January transfer window. He was the tactician’s top target before snubbing a potential move to the Gunners. But the forward’s age and possible market value have kept him on the radar.
Juventus were willing to sell the Serbian striker during this summer
Vlahovic’s up-and-down form for Juventus does not worry Arteta as he still appreciates what the striker could offer Arsenal. The Bianconeri were also willing to part with the attacker this summer to sign Romelu Lukaku. But Chelsea wanted an extra €40m (£35m) for a swap deal.
So, Arsenal might face an asking price of around £65m for Vlahovic’s transfer in January. Sky Sports reports that Chelsea gave Roma a £30m option to buy Lukaku in his eventual loan for this season. Such a price tag may spark doubts over Arteta landing his top target once more.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
