Shock Liverpool interest in 90-goal Serie A striker confirmed by top paper but Chiesa warning must be heeded | OneFootball

Liverpool are on alert to the opportunity of signing Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic in January, according to a report from an Italian paper explaining why his chances of staying with the Serie A club are slim.

Vlahovic is about to enter the final six months of his contract with Juventus, which makes him an appealing potential target. After all, he has 90 Serie A goals to his name from his spells with Fiorentina and Juventus. Moreover, he is about to turn 26, meaning his prime years could still be ahead of him.

The Premier League has often been touted as a destination for Vlahovic. Indeed, TEAMtalk revealed last month that he was generating interest from Tottenham, Chelsea, Everton and West Ham.

But Liverpool can also be added into the mix if Gazzetta Dello Sport‘s latest claims are to be believed.

In an article focusing on players approaching the end of their contracts, Vlahovic is front and centre. It’s claimed Liverpool are included among the ‘several clubs’ who are ‘interested’ in taking him to the Premier League.

Of course, Liverpool have just lost one of their strikers to injury after Alexander Isak suffered a broken leg while scoring against Tottenham Hotspur.

Hugo Ekitike is expected to continue leading the line in his absence, but some have wondered whether Liverpool could find cover to help out in attack – especially when they are short on the wings too.

Whether they see Vlahovic as a candidate to join in January or someone they’d rather pick up on a free transfer at the end of the season isn’t explicitly stated in the Italian report, but it would make more sense for them to move for him next month (it would have to be later in the window, once he recovers from an injury of his own, and a permanent move rather than a loan given his contract situation) if their interest is genuine.

After all, by the summer, Isak should be back in contention to play. It’s already been a dilemma for Liverpool to maximise opportunities for both of their big striker signings from the summer, so adding a third into the mix may only serve to muddy the waters further.

And that’s where Liverpool should keep in mind what’s happened with the last player to follow the path from Fiorentina to Juventus to Anfield: Federico Chiesa.

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Vlahovic may suffer same fate as Chiesa

Signing Chiesa from Juventus in 2024 was an opportunity Liverpool felt too good to turn down, given his quality and the fact that his contract was approaching its final year, thus reducing his fee.

However, Chiesa has struggled to win over Arne Slot, who rarely gives the winger meaningful gametime in the Premier League.

Vlahovic is a good striker who could be useful to a club competing in Europe, but his ceiling isn’t better than Isak’s and on recent form it looks like Ekitike’s is higher too.

Therefore, Liverpool should be cautious over saddling themselves with another centre-forward who would take up a high salary.

Indeed, Gazzetta Dello Sport points to Vlahovic’s wages as the main reason he’s likely to leave Juventus. He currently earns €12m per season, which is around £200,000 per week.

Juventus could only keep him on a ‘significantly lower salary’, the report states – adding he would have to make a ‘dramatic about-face’ to agree to that – and have ‘postponed’ talks over a new deal until the end of the season.

But Vlahovic will be free to talk to clubs outside Italy over a pre-contract agreement from January onwards and his agent Darko Ristic is reportedly ‘already working’ to find a new club.

Alternatively, the Serbia international could stay in Serie A, where his former Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri would gladly take him at AC Milan.

And that might make more sense as a destination than Liverpool, despite any temptations they may have over a move for Vlahovic.

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