Arsenal

Arsenal

Premier League • England

Arsenal burst into pole position for Juventus ace amid five-club pursuit, as Italian giants put forward ‘on the market’

Juventus players Dusan Vlahovic and Federico Chiesa

Juventus have reportedly put one of their most valuable assets on the transfer market and Arsenal have moved into a strong position to snap him up.

Juve are going through a turbulent time at the moment, to say the least. They had a slow start to the Serie A campaign and currently sit in third spot, behind AC Milan and Napoli. They will have to continue their recent winning run to have any chance of catching up with leaders Napoli, as they have a 10-point lead on Juve after 15 games.

Juve are also out of the Champions League after finishing third in Group H. Benfica surprisingly won the group, while Paris Saint-Germain came second. As a result, Max Allegri’s team will have to play Nantes in a Europa League knockout round play-off in February.

Things are also uncertain off the pitch. On November 28, Juve’s entire board of directors resigned, including Club President Andrea Agnelli and Vice President Pavel Nedved. Chief Executive Maurizio Arrivabene will remain in charge until the new board is announced.

To make matters worse for Juve, UEFA have opened a Financial Fair Play investigation against them.

This could result in the Bianconeri having to sell some of their best players to balance the books, or as part of a first-team restructuring process.

Italian source Calciomercato call the goings on at Juve a ‘judicial storm’. And they claim the potential FFP sanctions have resulted in a U-turn on the future of striker Dusan Vlahovic.

Juve beat Arsenal to the signing of the Serbian in January. According to Sky Sports, the Italian outfit paid Fiorentina £66.6million when signing Vlahovic on a long-term contract.

Arsenal given second shot at Juventus man

But Juve are now open to letting him go and have put him ‘on the market’. They know he will pick up interest from teams around Europe and that they should be able to get a big fee for him.

This is where Arsenal come in. According to the report, the Gunners are part of a battle, involving up to five clubs, for Vlahovic’s signature.

Luckily for Arsenal fans, they have moved into pole position for the transfer. The report doesn’t reveal why this is the case, but it seems Mikel Arteta will get another go at trying to sign Vlahovic.

After losing out on the 22-year-old the first time, Arsenal waited until the summer and brought in Gabriel Jesus from Manchester City.

Jesus cost £45m and has had a big impact in north London, even if only five goals have come his way. Jesus has been so influential, in fact, that City will reportedly no longer sell first-team players to Arsenal.

The Brazilian made two substitute appearances at the World Cup before starting in the final group game against Cameroon. However, he had to be taken off in the 64th minute after picking up a knee problem.

Dusan Vlahovic could replace Jesus

And Jesus has since had to have surgery on that issue, ruling him out for several months of the Premier League season.

This is why Arsenal are preparing to go back on the hunt for another striker. They need a goalscorer to replace Jesus up front, otherwise their Prem title charge could collapse.

Landing Vlahovic would be a great solution. He has the physicality and eye for goal to make him a big hit in England. He has even drawn comparisons with Erling Haaland.

However, if Vlahovic joins Arsenal, there is a big question over what would happen once Jesus returns from injury. Arteta is unlikely to start using two strikers, so once of them would have to settle for a spot on the bench.

Neither player would be happy with this, so Arsenal need to think carefully about what to do when replacing Jesus for the next few months. Perhaps a short-term loan signing would be a good move.

Meanwhile, Arsenal and Aston Villa have found out how much it will cost to sign a talented World Cup goalscorer.