Arsenal Transfer News: The Gunners are on hot-pursuit to sign the Serbian striker Dusan Vlahovic. But the deal looks more and more unlikely with every passing day as the striker seems uninterested in moving to North London.
Mikel Arteta sidelined Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in January. Thus, he is left with only Edward Nketiah and Alexandre Lacazette as his possible options in attack.
But both the strikers have failed to impress in recent weeks as Arsenal even got dumped out of the FA Cup last weekend. The Gunners failed to have even a shot on target as they lost 1-0 to Championship side Nottingham Forest in the 3rd round of the FA Cup.
Owing to this, the Gunners have been in the market to sign a striker in January. Their chief target has been Fiorentina’s Dusan Vlahovic. But the Serbian and his representatives have not been very keen on a move to Arsenal.
Dusan Vlahovic makes his feelings known to Fiorentina
As per TBR, Dusan Vlahovic has made his feelings clear to Fiorentina about a transfer in January. But this would further diminish the chances of Arsenal signing the striker before this month ends.
Arsenal had made a bid for Dusan Vlahovic at the start of January itself. The Gunners bid for £60 million. It also included Lucas Torreira transferring to Fiorentina on a permanent deal. Torreira is currently on loan with the Italian club.
But Dusan Vlahovic and his representatives have recently had a chat with Fiorentina’s management. And as per the report, Dusan Vlahovic is not looking to leave the Serie A club in January.
Dusan Vlahovic’s Fiorentina contract ends in June 2023. The striker isn’t interested in extending it. Owing to this, Viola is looking to sell him in January to get more payout in terms of transfer money.
But the Serbian apparently wants full control over his future. He isn’t interested in leaving just because Fiorentina wants a quick sale and this has been communicated to the club’s board as well.
Fiorentina is currently in the 7th spot and is vying to get into one of the European qualification spots. Hence, the club should not entirely mind Vlahovic staying and helping them to achieve their target.
This would be a big blow for the Gunners
Dusan Vlahovic has scored 16 goals in 20 Serie A games for Fiorentina. Owing to this, he has generated interest from other clubs including Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City, Juventus, and others.
All of these clubs would surely be monitoring Vlahovic in January. To add to this, the striker also wants to play in the UEFA Champions League regularly. Hence, If Arsenal fails to finish in the top 4, they may lose Vlahovic for good.
