Arsenal reportedly look to be making progress on an ambitious transfer deal for Fiorentina striker Dusan Vlahovic.
The Serbia international is one of Europe’s most exciting young players at the moment, having shone in Serie A in the last year or so to become the subject of plenty of transfer talk this January.
It looks like Arsenal are now taking major steps towards completing a deal for Vlahovic, with Todo Fichajes claiming that the 21-year-old could be set to sign a six-year contract upon moving to the Emirates Stadium.
The report adds that Arsenal could pay him as much as €365,000 a week if he joins, which would make the young forward one of the highest paid players in the Premier League.
This follows Kaveh Solhekol telling Sky Sports yesterday that Vlahovic could be open to a transfer to Arsenal…
Pictures courtesy of Sky Sports
All in all, this is starting to sound increasingly positive for the Gunners, who seem to be showing real ambition here after also spending big during the summer.
It’s clear that Mikel Arteta has a big job on his hands at Arsenal, but if he could add an elite goal-scorer like Vlahovic to his squad to replace the out-of-form and out-of-favour Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, it could give everyone a big lift.
Of course, there’s no guarantee that big signings like this will work out, as Arsenal will have learned from recent disappointments with the likes of Nicolas Pepe and Thomas Partey.
Still, AFC fans will be hugely encouraged by the fact that their club is even in a transfer battle like this at all, with Vlahovic looking a bit like he might be out of their league.
Speaking to CaughtOffside recently, former Manchester United midfielder Luke Chadwick suggested that the Fiorentina front-man would probably opt for a bigger name than Arsenal once he moves.
“They’ve certainly got the finances to pay £80-odd-million for someone like Vlahovic, but I think that sort of player is probably one they should’ve gone for a few months ago. His stock has grown so much this season and I imagine there’ll be plenty of suitors who are established Champions League clubs who’d get there first.
“Potentially his stock has just grown a bit too much in the last few months, so you’d expect him now to go to a Liverpool, a Chelsea, a Bayern Munich – somewhere where Champions League football is ready for him.”