Four and a half years after choosing Juventus over Arsenal, Dusan Vlahovic is set to leave the Italian club as a free agent at the end of June 2026.
The 26-year-old Serbia international failed to agree a new contract with Juventus following crunch talks with club officials about his future.
Vlahovic’s salary demands exceeded what Juventus were prepared to offer, bringing his time in Turin to an end after years of mixed results.
The striker scored 68 goals in 168 appearances for Juventus, including 10 goals in 23 games across all competitions during the 2025/26 campaign.
His time in Italy was blighted by inconsistency and injury, and he never quite delivered the level of performance many had anticipated when he first arrived.
Back in January 2022, Arsenal made a serious push to sign Vlahovic from Fiorentina, offering £50 million plus Lucas Torreira, a bid that was rejected by the Italian club.
Vlahovic instead completed a £66 million move to Juventus, despite being at the top of Mikel Arteta’s transfer wishlist following Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s departure from the club.
Former Italy international Antonio Cassano was quick to condemn the decision, telling Bobo TV that Vlahovic had made a career-defining error by not choosing Arsenal first.
Cassano said: “In my opinion [Vlahovic’s decision] is sensationally wrong. For the type of player, I think he needed to make an intermediate step to a team like Arsenal, Tottenham, or Sevilla.”
Cassano went further, warning that the weight of expectation at Juventus would prove too much, saying: “At Juve, every match must be decisive. It’s a dangerous weight on him.”
He also questioned whether the striker’s personality would suit the Juventus dressing room, adding: “He is a Serbian, a particular character, I don’t see him fitting in well with Juve’s dressing room, that’s the opinion I have.”
Those words now look prophetic, as Juventus failed to win a single Scudetto during Vlahovic’s time at the club while Arsenal grew into genuine European powerhouses.
Cassano had argued that a move to Arsenal would have been a more measured step, given the rebuild Arteta was overseeing at the time, making it easier for a young striker to settle in and develop.
Several clubs are now reported to be monitoring Vlahovic’s situation, with Napoli, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Newcastle, and Barcelona all linked with the striker ahead of the summer transfer window.
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