Exclusive: Aston Villa explode into race for €50m-rated Arsenal striker target amid contract feud

Exclusive: Aston Villa explode into race for €50m-rated Arsenal striker target amid contract feud

TEAMtalk can exclusively disclose that Aston Villa has joined Arsenal in the competition to recruit Dusan Vlahovic, who is expected to depart Juventus this summer.

Clubs are closely monitoring the Serbian international’s position as his contract with Juventus expires in 2026 and talks to extend it are currently at a stalemate.

Juventus is willing to give Vlahovic a new contract, but only on conditions that are less than his present weekly pay of almost £215,000. He appears to be leaving the Bianconeri this summer as a result.

Arsenal was the team most interested in signing Vlahovic during the January transfer window, as we have previously reported, but they ultimately decided against it.

According to insiders, Vlahovic is still on Arsenal’s shortlist and is “one of Mikel Arteta’s favorites,” along with Benjamin Sesko of RB Leipzig.

But in a significant move, Vlahovic has been named as a summer target by Aston Villa, who are searching for a new number nine to replace Jhon Duran.

Although Villa has not yet made any official inquiries, insiders claim that Unai Emery’s team is seriously considering an approach in the summer and that interest in Vlahovic is “concrete.”

In recent weeks, Vlahovic’s team has put in a lot of effort and offered the youngster to numerous European clubs, including Newcastle, Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund, and Marseille.

Although none of those teams have shown a desire to sign Vlahovic in the summer, Villa is intrigued and may make a quick move to acquire him.

Last month, they sold Duran to Al-Nassr for about £65 million. Marcus Rashford’s loan from Manchester United, which comes with a £40 million buyout option, has somewhat filled the gap.

Even though Rashford can play as a striker when needed, Emery has so far used him on the left flank, so it would make sense for Villa to add a fresh center-forward to compete with Ollie Watkins in the summer.

With Villa and Arsenal closely monitoring the situation, the Premier League duo may compete for the Juventus striker’s signature in the upcoming months. Vlahovic, who has scored 55 goals in 133 appearances for Juventus so far, is interested in joining the Midlands club, who are vying for Champions League qualification and will likely play some sort of European football next season.