ITALIAN GIANTS JUVENTUS are are close to signing Fiorentina’s rampaging 21-year-old striker Dusan Vlahovic, Italian media are widely reporting.

Often compared to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the Serb has 17 goals in Serie A this season and Juventus are ready to pay around €70 million for the youngster as they seek to fill the goal gap left by Cristiano Ronaldo.

With only 18 months remaining on Vlahovic’s deal in Florence, speculation around his destiny has risen considerably.

In the summer Fiorentina held off interest from the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and Atletico Madrid, while Arsenal are also said to be watching closely.

Juventus lost Ronaldo’s goals this season after he moved on to Manchester United and Vlahovic appears a good fit.

Italian daily Gazzetta dello Sport said Juventus had offered just short of €70m, while Sky Italia reported a global figure of €75m.

Fiorentina owner Italian-American businessman Rocco Commisso offered Vlahovic an improved contract in October and insisted he would not be held to ransom when the player refused.

“Our annual turnover is around €75m, so we can’t risk losing him on a free transfer,” Fiorentina director Daniele Prade said this week.

The fee would be the biggest in Serie A history for a winter break transfer.

The current record came when AC Milan paid €40m to Brazilian club Flamengo for Lucas Paqueta in January 2019.

It has been a rapid rise to stardom for the 21-year-old, who went from cheering on Partizan Belgrade in the stands to making his club debut less than a month after his 16th birthday in early 2016, before moving to Italy two years later.

Described by his former Partizan U21 coach Milan Ristic as the biggest talent he has seen come out of the former Yugoslavia, Vlahovic has also become a fixture in the Serbian national team.

– © AFP 2022

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