ITALY: JUVENTUS CONFIRM VLAHOVIC TRANSFER

Immediate past Italian champions Juventus have confirmed the signing of Serbia international DusanVlahovic from fellow Italian Serie A team Fiorentina. The big-money signing was made official on Friday.

Juventus will pay a fee of £58m plus £8m in add-ons for the Serbian striker who also attracted interest from three Premier League teams. The Premier League trio of Arsenal, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur were also keen on signing Vlahovic, but the preference of the player was to stay in the Italian top flight. He had 18 months left on his Fiorentina contract. North London giants Arsenal were the most interested of the three English teams, but he snubbed them to sign for the Old Lady.

Serbia international Vlahovic moved from Fiorentina to Juventus on the occasion of his 22^nd birthday. He has signed a four-and-a-half year deal with the Old Lady. Vlahovic has been one of the best strikers in the Italian top flight since the start of last season and he has scored 20 goals in all competitions for Fiorentina this season. This is in addition to him playing a big part in the World Cup 2022 qualifiers for his nation. Vlahovic scored in the wins over Azerbaijan and Luxembourg as Serbia finished at the top of Group A ahead of favourites Portugal to seal their place in Qatar 2022. The Serbians secured their place in Qatar thanks to the 2-1 away win over Portugal in the final group game for the two teams.

Fiorentina have lost a lot of top talents to Juventus over the years. Some of the talents who moved from Fiorentina to Juventus over the years include retired Italian striker Roberto Baggio, Italian international Giorgio Chiellini, Federico Bernardeschi and Federico Chiesa who moved to the Old Lady at the start of last season in a loan deal with the obligation to buy.