According to La Nazione, Arsenal are ready to make a €70m (£59m) bid for Dusan Vlahovic within the next 48 hours, with a huge contract on the table.
What’s the story?
Well, it looks like Arsenal are about to firm up their interest in the 21-year-old wonderkid with an official offer.
La Nazione believe the Gunners will offer Vlahovic a five-year contract worth €19m-a-year (£16m), which equates to £307,692-a-week.
Amazingly, that still wouldn’t make the 14-cap Serbia international the highest earner at Arsenal – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang makes £350,000-a-week.
Strangely, La Nazione feel the need to state that Arsenal’s offer will arrive by email, if you’re interested in the finer details.
It’s no surprise to see Arsenal prepare such a lucrative package for the Fiorentina No.9 – he has been on fire across the last two seasons.
So far this term, Vlahovic has scored 20 goals in 24 appearances.
It comes after he won the Serie A Young Player of the Year award last season, having netted 21 goals in 40 appearances.
The fact Vlahovic is already just one goal away from equalling last season’s tally in January suggests he is making rapid progress.
Arsenal need Dusan Vlahovic to succeed
If La Nazione are telling the truth, this is significant news.
A £307,692-a-week deal across five years is massive, not to mention the £59m transfer fee.
A financial commitment like this will surely have a huge restriction on Arsenal in the market going forward, for the next few years at least.
Should Vlahovic fail, it will be tough for Arsenal to convince others to take him off their hands, especially with a contract like that.
Simply put, he has to succeed, or the Gunners will be stuck with him and also stuck with little room to manoeuvre in the market.
It’s a big risk, but on the evidence so far, Vlahovic is worth it.
Only time will tell if Arsenal’s faith in the Serbian is rewarded.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
