Dusan Vlahovic joins Juventus after 75 million transfer from Fiorentina

Serbian striker Dusan Vlahovic on Friday completed his big-money move from Fiorentina to Juventus in one of the biggest deals of the winter transfer window.

The Turin club will pay a €75 million fee, excluding add ons, for the 22-year-old, football journalist Fabrizio Romano said in a tweet. Vlahovic has signed a contract which will see him earn up to €7 milllion net per season he added.  

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Earlier today, the in-demand Serbian arrived at the Serie A giants’ training facility to undergo medical tests ahead of the transfer. The club tweeted images and a video of Vlahovic interacting with fans as he arrived at the medical facility. 

Vlahovic has scored 20 goals in 24 games in all competitions for Fiorentina this season and matched Cristiano Ronaldo’s feat of scoring 33 league goals in a calender year in 2021. He is level with Lazio striker Ciro Immobile on 17 goals as the top scorer in the league this season. 

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“Dusan Vlahović continues to amaze. Last year he was the best young player in Serie A, this year he is living up to great expectations by proving himself to be one of the best players this season,” Serie A CEO Luigi De Siervo said after Vlahovic was named player of the month for December. 

“Physical strength, technique, a spirit of sacrifice and a great sense of goal make him one of the most complete forwards around,” he added. 

Juventus have struggled all season since Ronaldo left for Manchester United in the summer. The 36-time Serie A champions are languishing in fifth and have scored just 34 goals in the league – fewer than any of the top 10 teams in the division except Torino. 

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Vlahovic could be the key to their goalscoring troubles, with the Serbian’s talents attracting interest from a number of top clubs across Europe. 

Arsenal were among other suitors for Vlahovic as the North London club sought a long-term replacement for out-of-favour striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. 

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However, the striker opted for a move to the Turin side. “Juventus are always Juventus,” Vlahovic’s agent was quoted as saying by the Mirror in reponse to questions regarding why he was joining the Old Lady. 

The decision has left Arsenal frustrated, who believe their interest in the striker was used by his camp as ‘smokescreen’ to leverage the transfer to Juventus, according to an ESPN report.