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Vlahovic has been linked to Chelsea, but should the Premier League club be chasing the Juventus frontman?
A lot can change in 12 months – or 18 months in Dusan Vlahovic’s case.
In January 2022, the then-Fiorentina striker was coveted by Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal but ended up at Juventus, a deal the Viola president Rocco Commisso has alleged went ahead because of Vlahovic’s financial gain.
Unfortunately for the Serbian, his stock seems to have fallen since swapping Florence for Turin, with the hitherto prolific marksman’s goalscoring numbers dipping amid Juventus’ broader challenges.
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The Old Lady have faced multiple financial charges in the last six months, with a points deduction ultimately costing them a Champions League spot in 2023-24.
Although, the Italian giants were probably not going to partake in European competition in 23-24, with UEFA sanctions always expected to follow domestic punishment.
For Vlahovic’s part, you wonder what might have been had the striker moved to North London instead of Turin at the start of 2022.
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Vlahovic could have been Arsenal's centrepiece
Had the Serb joined the Gunners, Arteta’s men might have secured Champions League qualification in 2021-22 instead of Antonio Conte’s Tottenham Hotspur.
But that transfer might have prevented Arsenal from acquiring Gabriel Jesus from Manchester City last summer.
The Brazilian has elevated the centre-forward position at the club, coalescing with teammates seamlessly since leaving Manchester in a way that Vlahovic might have found impossible.
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Admittedly, we will never know. Be that as it may, a red-hot Vlahovic could have taken the Premier League by storm, nonetheless.
The Spaniard’s transfer targets are seldom failures, with the former midfielder registering more hits than failures since arriving at the club, and that success rate has risen in the last 18 to 24 months.
Vlahovic would have thrived in the North London club’s coherent structure. At Juventus, he has intermittently looked like a fish out of water in Massimiliano Allegri’s setup.
Vlahovic’s Juventus nightmare
The supply of quality chances to the Serb has reduced in Turin, evident in the centre-forward’s underlying numbers.
According to FBref, Vlahovic’s Expected Goals (xG) per 90 in his first complete season at Juventus was 0.45. Strikingly in the opening few months after moving from Fiorentina in January 2022, the striker’s xG per 90 was 0.43.
By contrast, comparing his 2020-21 campaign (0.57 xG per 90) and the half-season spent with the Viola last season (0.63 xG per 90) highlights the evident drop-off.
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A further examination of the forward’s struggles at Juventus’ is underscored by the team’s xG in 2021-22 and last season — 51.4 and 55.3, respectively — ranking ninth and sixth in Serie A.
The Old Lady are surprisingly open to selling the man they brought in just 18 months ago for €70 million plus €10 million in performance-related bonuses, partly due to the club’s financial situation but also because of the Serb’s falling stock.
Chelsea are understandably linked, but does the potential transfer make sense for the Stamford Bridge club?
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Should Chelsea rescue Vlahovic from Juventus ordeal?
The Blues are officially a fortnight into the Mauricio Pochettino tenure, looking to move on from their annus horribilis under the Boehly-Clearlake ownership.
Swooping for Vlahovic has been mooted, although such a transfer poses more questions about the club’s direction under the new owners.
With the futures of Romelu Lukaku and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang up in the air, the club should be reluctant to have Vlahovic on its books with the wantaway strikers still contracted to the Blues.
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More importantly, acquiring the Juventus man raises doubts over the logic behind the Nicolas Jackson transfer or the decision to tie injury returnee Armando Broja to a long-term contract until 2028.
The club’s midfield appears to be an area of urgent need, and adding Vlahovic to Jackson and Broja when they have no continental football in 2023-24 seems baffling. Such an outlay on their centre-forward position would be money that cannot be invested into recognised midfield quality.
Most important is Vlahovic’s wages possibly disrupting the new ownership’s strategy to offer lower, more incentive-based salaries.
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According to Capology, the Juventus forward’s salary of €249,000 makes him the Old Lady’s highest earner, and there would be an increase to those terms if he moved to West London.
Since the Boehly-Clearlake ownership’s change in approach took momentum, Reece James’ £250, 000 contract tops every player at the club, even if Raheem Sterling — signed in the summer of 2022 — earns higher terms, £325, 000.
Admittedly, the club has freed up room for another high earner following the departures of N’Golo Kante, Kalidou Koulibaly and Kai Havertz, but acquiring Vlahovic could see the Serb earn a salary nearing Sterling’s terms on a long-term contract.
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That would be a departure from the plan to give reduced, incentivised deals to players.
Whether the big-money transfer eventually materialises remains to be seen, but Chelsea would be committing a king’s ransom to the Serbian.
At a time when the futures of more experienced forwards are uncertain, the new ownership can ill afford to take another gamble on Vlahovic.
Not when the current setup has more gaping holes to fill, and any potential agreement could deviate from the fiscally responsible regime Boehly and Clearlake seek to build.
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