Dusan Vlahovic’s terrific form in front of goal for ACF Fiorentina this season saw him getting linked with suitors across Europe. However, Juventus have won the race for the Serbian striker and paid La Viola over 80 million euros to acquire his services immediately.
The Bianconeri have officially announced the signing of 22-year-old Vlahovic for a deal reportedly worth 81.6 million euros as the striker put pen to paper to a contract that’s expected to run for four and a half years.
The Serb will reportedly earn a gross salary of nearly 7 million euros per season – 31.5 million euros across the duration of his current contract with The Old Lady.
The clubs were engaged in extended negotiations for weeks before the deal was closed on Friday. Several Premier League clubs like Arsenal and Tottenham were also huge admirers of his proficiency in front of goal but failed to match the steep asking price set by the Serie A club.
“Today is really a special day for me and one of the most special and happy birthdays I’ve ever experienced so far,”
said Vlahovic, who turned 22 on Friday, the day his move to Juventus was decided.
Juventus presented the birthday boy with a cake and a candle in the team’s dressing room at the Allianz Arena before handing him the number 7 shirt vacated by Cristiano Ronaldo over the summer.
The Cristiano links do not end just there as Juventus also announced the signing with the hashtag ‘DV7’ to mirror his popular ‘CR7’ brand.
Juventus have struggled in front of goal following Ronaldo’s immensely anticipated move to Manchester United this summer. They are currently fifth in Serie A and the desperate need to make ground in the latter half of the season is what prompted them to break the bank for Vlahovic even though he was going to be out of contract in just 18 months.
The 22-year-old has scored 20 goals in 24 matches across all competitions for Fiorentina this season. He currently leads the Serie A scoring charts along with Lazio’s Ciro Immobile. Vlahovic first came to prominence last season after scoring 21 goals in 40 appearances for Fiorentina, and he recently equalled Cristiano’s record of scoring 33 Serie A goals in a calendar year.
Fiorentina and Juventus share a long-standing rivalry, and Vlahovic’s transfer is far from being the first high-profile move between the two clubs. In 1990, the transfer of Robert Baggio to the Bianconeri saw angry demonstrations on the street while more recently, prodigious Fiorentina winger Federico Chiesa decided to make the same move.
