He may be 6ft 3ins but don’t let the rangy frame fool you; Dusan Vlahovic is no Andy Carroll 2.0 or Serbian Benteke.
This is a striker who, in his Partizan Belgrade days, labelled himself ‘the new Zlatan Ibrahimovic’. And, like the evergreen Swede, Vlahovic has the requisite talent to back up his steel-capped self-confidence, not to mention an eye for the spectacular and a brilliant goal-scoring record.
Vlahovic hit his 17th goal in 35 games during Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Juventus. That is more than Zlatan himself has produced for Milan, albeit during an injury-hit season.
And it is not all towering headers and close-range tap-ins either. Fiorentina’s number nine is an explosive striker of the ball, lethal from long and short-range. That hat-trick goal against Benevento, floated into the top corner from 25 yards after a gorgeous first-touch, was Ibra epitomised.
Almost every big club in Europe has been linked with Vlahovic over the last six weeks or so too.
And, with Liverpool’s usually machine-like front three malfunctioning, Tuttosport claims that Jurgen Klopp’s dethroned Champions have had their hearts stolen by the handsome young prince of Florence.
Fiorentina, meanwhile, are struggling to tie Vlahovic down to a new contract and could be tempted to sell if a £35 million offer arrives (TMW).
“I think that, after Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe, (Vlahovic) is one of the strongest in Europe,” former Italy international Cristian Vieri said on his Twitch channel earlier this month.
The Liverpool supporters certainly share Vieri’s admiration for a self-professed future superstar who is starting to justify his own hype.
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