Sporting CP boss Ruben Amorim. (Photo by PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP via Getty Images)placeholder image
Sporting CP boss Ruben Amorim. (Photo by PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP via Getty Images) | AFP via Getty Images
Jadon Sancho is closing in on a move to Juventus giving Man Utd a great opportunity to sign a player they want to move on.
Manchester United’s hunt for a new striker is one that could go deep into the transfer window as one by one, names that were on the shortlist get crossed out and sign for other teams.
The latest target is Christopher Nkunku in a £35m deal, however, Bayern Munich are keen to take the Chelsea striker back to the Bundesliga where the France international played his best football.
As Ruben Amorim looks to move on the five players who have demanded transfers, he and the recruitment team must scour the market for potential bargains and take advantage of any situation similar to their own.
One player who seemed like a no brainer was Jonathan David, available on a free transfer, the former Lille striker has signed for Juventus, a move that has seen a high profile falling out.
Man Utd could land Dusan Vlahovic in cut-price deal
Current Juve No.9 Dusan Vlahovic is far from impressed as his own contract ticks down with the Old Lady of Italian football trying to renegotiate the Serbian battering ram’s current terms.
Vlahovic, at 25, is far from over the hill but needs to find the right club where he can be the main man and Old Trafford would be the perfect theatre for him to serve a reminder of why Juve paid £73.5m for his services. GiveMeSport report that the Serb is “desperate” to move to the Premier League and sees United as the perfect platform to showcase his talents.
According to Notizie Inter, Vlahovic is digging his heels in: “Dusan Vlahovic is at a delicate crossroads with Juventus . Purchased in January 2022 from Fiorentina for around 85 million (£73.5m), the striker risks living a season outside the Juventus project.
“The reason? The renewal of the contract is still an unresolved issue . Vlahovic has in fact rejected the club's offer, which proposed a salary between 7 and 8 million net, well below the 12 million currently received and requested by the player.
“The Serbian striker has made it known that he is willing to stay only if he is awarded a salary equal to or higher than his current one, otherwise he would prefer to wait until the natural expiry of the agreement .
“If an agreement is not reached by August, Juventus and Vlahovic's agent, Ristic, could start discussions for a consensual termination of the contract.”
Transfer journalist Gianluca Di Marzio has gone one further and claimed on X that Juventus are going to approach the player’s representatives and ask if the contract can be terminated with immediate effect:
“The @juventusfc will propose to Dusan Vlahovic's agents the termination of the contract.”
Man Utd could provide Vlahovic solution for Juventus
With David on board, Juventus might be willing to cut their losses, however, there is an obvious solution.
Vlahovic is on a similar salary to Jadon Sancho, but the problem isn’t what he is paid, it is that there isn’t any value for money.
If he was leading the line every week for United and scoring goals, nobody would complain about a £300,000 per week wage.
Of course, the ideal scenario would be for United to get Sancho to complete his move to Juve and to then discuss signing Vlahovic on a separate deal. If the Italian giants are willing to just cut ties, the Red Devils would be in a strong position to absorb the exorbitant wages over the period of a four or five year deal, if there wasn’t a transfer fee that needed to be paid.
With the two clubs already at the negotiating table, Jason Wilcox could kill two birds with one stone and ask the question. It would be music to Juve’s ears and the solution to a long-term United problem.
Ollie Watkins and Dominic Calvert-Lewin have both been linked with moves to Old Trafford but Vlahovic could prove a smart alternative option for the reasons highlighted above.
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