Manchester United have held what has been described as ‘positive and constructive’ talks for Dusan Vlahovic, with the striker reported to have green-lit the move for two reasons, and with the player one of eight stars Juventus have cleared to leave this summer.
The Red Devils’ lack of potency in attack last season was a major factor in their miserable campaign. Finishing in a woeful 15th place, their lowest ever in Premier League history, the final nail in Manchester United‘s miserable campaign was sealed in Bilbao last month when they put in a tepid display to lose the Europa League final to Tottenham Hotspur.
Despite missing the riches that a Champions League campaign would have brought, Ruben Amorim and Co. have wasted little time in trying to fix their Achilles heel by adding a wealth of new attacking options to their arsenal.
First up, United have quickly agreed a deal to bring in Matheus Cunha from Wolves for £62.5m. The club hopes they can soon add Bryan Mbeumo to play alongside him, and a second offer for the Brentford frontman is now being prepped and aided somewhat by a current Red Devils star.
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Furthermore, the club have made no secret of their desire to also sign a new No.9 to spearhead Ruben Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 formation. But having missed out on Liam Delap to Chelsea, and then seen efforts to land Viktor Gyokeres crash and burn, it could now be a case of third time lucky for recently-promoted director of football Jason Wilcox.
And according to Football Transfers, the Red Devils boss has been in talks with the representatives of Vlahovic, after the Juventus star made it clear he sees Old Trafford as a ‘dream destination’.
And with Wilcox making the most of such an opening, they state United have held ‘direct talks with the representatives of the Juventus striker’ with the club intensifying efforts to add a reliable No.9 this summer’.
In a message that should get United fans purring, they state: ‘Sources close to the situation reveal that it was Vlahovic’s camp who approached Man Utd, with the player increasingly pushing for a move to the Premier League, his dream destination.
‘Vlahovic is said to view Man Utd as an ideal step in his career, and recent discussions were described as positive and constructive.’
Vlahovic says yes to Man Utd for two reasons as Juventus put eight up for sale
The report concludes that the Serbian forward is ‘motivated by the idea of working under Ruben Amorim and playing in a more open, physically demanding league.’
And the good news keeps on coming for United amid claims that Juventus are open to the cut-price sale of the star, possibly for a fee as low as €25m (£21.3m, $29m) in an effort to get the striker and his colossal £320,000 a week salary off their wage bill.
Indeed, according to Il Corriere dello Sport, Juve have put a total of eight players up for sale this summer, with the Bianconeri ready to listen to offers for Douglas Luiz, Lloyd Kelly, Samuel Mbangula, Arkadiusz Milik, Mattia Perin, Daniele Rugani and Filip Kostic alongside Vlahovic.
And the Italian paper claims they want to move the players on after an underwhelming season that saw them finish fourth, and with Gyokeres one of their more ambitious targets to help with a rebuild.
Man Utd transfer latest: Ekitike interest confirmed; Mbeumo truths revealed
Vlahovic is not the only forward United are chasing and Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that discussions with the agents of top Bundesliga striker Hugo Ekitike have also been held, with another report revealing the Red Devils hold two ace cards as they look to fight off interest from Liverpool and Chelsea for the Eintracht Frankfurt star.
Any new striker move this summer could be funded by the sale of Hojlund to Inter Milan and a new report claims the two sides are working on the formula of a deal that will see the struggling Dane swapping Old Trafford for the San Siro.
Meanwhile, TEAMtalk sources have revealed thetruth around growing claims that Mbeumo will perform a U-turn and ditch a planned move to United and join Tottenham Hotspur instead after a transfer journalist suggested a possible move to Old Trafford is no longer certain.
What could Vlahovic bring to Man Utd?
By Samuel Bannister
Towering at 1.90m tall, it’s no surprise what kind of centre-forward Dusan Vlahovic is. If it’s a target man you want, this is the kind of player you’d design.
Renowned for his strength, Vlahovic excels with his hold-up play. But he doesn’t just stop there; although he won’t drop deep too often, this is a player with good ball-carrying abilities as well, making him extremely dangerous on transition if he can pin his marker and change the direction of play.
What about his finishing, though? Despite his potential, Vlahovic hasn’t always been the most prolific frontman. His best period as a goalscorer was between 2020 and 2022, when he scored 50 goals over two seasons (he was a Fiorentina player for one-and-a-half of those, and a Juventus player for the last half).
At Juventus, he hits double figures regularly, but still hasn’t taken that next step to becoming a regular 20-goal-a-season striker.
Vlahovic is left-footed and that represents his most common way to score, significantly more so than via heading, despite his height. He isn’t just a penalty-box poacher, either; the Serbian striker is a reliable free-kick taker and is dangerous from long range.
There’s a lot to like about Vlahovic in terms of his raw traits, but in his mid-20s, he still isn’t the finished article. With a bit of refinement to his game, he could reach the next level, but he is just outside the bracket of being top-class just yet.