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Arsenal can complete three-year transfer mission as £50m Ollie Watkins alternative identified

Dušan Vlahović
-Credit:Getty Images


Arsenal have been linked with a last-minute move to sign former transfer target Dusan Vlahovic, after reports that Juventus' talks with the striker over a contract extension have stalled.

With less than 24 hours of the transfer window left, Premier League clubs Arsenal, Manchester United, and Aston Villa are among those to have enquired about Vlahovic.

Arsenal will still be hoping to secure a striker before the end of the transfer window and it is clear that Mathys Tel is no longer an option as Tottenham Hotspur have agreed a deal with the Bayern Munich forward. It also appears that Ollie Watkins will not be leaving Aston Villa for the Gunners, following a £40million-plus bid.

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Vlahovic signed with Juventus in 2022 and his contract is set to expire in June 2026. The club are said to want the striker to agree to a pay cut, which he is not happy with.

The 25-year-old is understood to be available for around €60million (£50million) and has the highest salary of any player in Serie A. This season so far he has played 1,365 minutes in Serie A, scoring eight goals.

Vlahovic signed with Fiorentina in 2018 where he won Serie A Best Young Player. He moved to Juventus in 2022, having been heavily inked with a move to the Emirates Stadium, and is one of only two players born after 1999 to have scored more than 40 goals in Europe’s top-five leagues.

Mikel Arteta has been open about Arsenal’s need for more attacking options. Last month he said: "My opinion is clear that we lost two very very important players, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus. So we lack goals, we lack people, we lack options in the frontline, it's clear.

“It is clear that in the period that we lost them, ideally we need some help. We were short already and now we are even shorter. The team still copes with that."

However, he said it had to be the right player, and someone who “has an impact in the team”.