Dusan Vlahovic’s story at Juventus looked to be coming to an end, but instead a U-turn means he will now extend his stay.
According to TMW, there were ‘many problems’ that seemed to stand in the way of Vlahovic extending his current deal, which expires at the end of the season. However, in the past few weeks there have been positive talks over a renewal, to the extent that it now seems imminent.
Milan never made their move
One thing is certain: should an extension be reached, it’s clear that the striker’s salary would not be the same as his current contract. Vlahovic, as is well known, is earning €12m net in this his final season in his first deal signed in January 2022.
Following Vlahovic’s openness to signing a contract extension, the parties will meet again in the coming weeks to try to reach an agreement on a new deal, and the sentiments so far are very positive, especially since the Serbian remains the top striker in Luciano Spalletti’s current squad.
Last Saturday, the Juventus coach rejected both Jonathan David and Lois Openda, who will be on the market when the window reopens. So Vlahovic’s role has returned to centre stage, following the injury that sidelined him for approximately four months this season.
Alternative options were also lacking. Vlahovic’s own openness to extending was driven by his desire to return to prominence with Juventus, but also by the genuine lack of alternatives, given that in recent weeks no one has actually come forward to offer him a contract.
Milan were ‘in the background, nothing more’ and no offers have come from abroad. For all these reasons, the marriage should go ahead, but only the signature will truly put an end to this protracted soap opera.
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His injury made any potential suitor stand back to wait and see. No one is making a significant investment in a player who just missed months of football. His window to impress, is short. If he were to do so, the question still remains for how long. He will make a wage the requires him to be the primary scorer on his team, if he ends up missing a lot if time again, it puts the team he signs for in serious jeopardy. That is why other teams decided to explore different options because he is way too much of a gamble at this point, high reward maybe, definitely much higher risk.
So if they renew Vlahovic, maybe they will ease of Retegui and give us the runway to get him.