Fiorentina coach Beppe Iachini is convinced that Dusan Vlahovic will stay put despite interest from Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur, speaking to Calciomercato.
Not everyone in Florence will be quite so confident.
The highly controversial departure of Federico Chiesa last summer – the winger joined Juventus shortly after Viola owner Rocco Commisso promised that he would not be sold – has certainly shaken the belief that an underachieving Fiorentina are capable of hanging onto their prized assets.
And interest is certainly rising in Vlahovic.
Tuttosport claims that Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool are looking closely at the 21-year-old Serb – perhaps the most exciting young striker in Europe not called Erling Haaland.
Vlahovic, who has 15 goals in 29 Serie A games for a struggling side this season, is also a target for Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal and Jose Mourinho’s Spurs (Calciomercato and La Repubblica).
But Iachini is expecting to still have the self-professed ‘new Zlatan Ibrahimovic’ at his disposal for 2021/22. Whether this is optimism or delusion, well, that’s for you to decide.
“Fiorentina have all the tools to keep him. The president has a good project and he loves the boy,” Iachini says.
“The president will convince him to continue the journey together.”
There is one rather substantial obstacle that must be overcome, of course.
The £35 million-rated Vlahovic is resisting Fiorentina’s attempts to tie him down to a new contract, demanding a substantial pay rise that will see his wages increase from £7,000-a-week to £40,000-a-week (TMW).
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