Dusan Vlahovic's injury problems could serve as a reason to Chelsea and Arsenal over why they should not pursue a January transfer for the Juventus star, according to Ben Jacobs. The 22-year-old has been linked with a move to the Premier League despite only joining Juventus earlier this year following the controversy surrounding the Italian side after the entire board resigned earlier this month.
The Gunners were interested in Vlahovic last January but the Serbia international opted to remain in Italy as he joined Juventus from Fiorentina for £70million, although he has struggled to replicate the goal-scoring form shown in Florence. Vlahovic has scored 16 goals from 36 games for Juve, with seven coming in this campaign.
An adductor injury saw him miss Juventus' final five games before the World Cup break but he was able to play a role for his country in Qatar, albeit in cameo appearances mostly.
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Vlahovic played 24 minutes for Serbia against Brazil before being an unused substitute in the 3-3 draw with Cameroon. Serbia had to win their final group match against Switzerland and partnering Fulham's Aleksandr Mitrovic in Qatar, Vlahovic was able to find the back of the net.
However, he struggled to have any further impact, with Serbia losing 3-2 and thus resulting in his side being dumped out in the group stages. That hasn't put off suitors though, with elite forwards on the list for both Chelsea and Arsenal next month.
Both sides have suffered damaging injuries in the past few weeks with star man Gabriel Jesus ruled out until February at the earliest, whilst Armando Broja recently underwent surgery to repair his ACL and will thus miss the remainder of the season. Vlahovic offers European pedigree and proven goal-scoring quality to any side and his agent, Darko Ristic, has said that a January move can't be ruled out.
Italian publication Corriere Dello Sport write that Ristic is aware of the interest from Premier League clubs and that, although Juventus would prefer to try and wait until the summer to even vaguely entertain offers, are aware that something could come much earlier.
Both Arsenal and Chelsea appear in need of a forward in January, and while the latter are closing in on a deal for Molde striker David Datro Fofana, Vlahovic would be a welcome addition. However, Ben Jacobs has one particular concern that may prompt both clubs to withdraw their interest
Speaking to Give Me Sport, he said: “I think everybody chasing Vlahovic needs to understand, is January possible, first and foremost, and then if it isn’t, what do they need to do to persuade him to move to the Premier League in January?
“And also, what is his injury situation? Because right now, if you get him in January, he’s got a groin problem that is still under investigation. But Chelsea are looking a bit more seriously at him and obviously a number of other strikers because of the Armando Broja situation.”
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