Paulo Dybala, long heralded as the new star for Juventus, is as good as gone after this season. According to Gianluca Di Marzio, Juventus CEO Maurizio Arrivabene says striker Dusan Vlahovic, who recently arrived in January from Fiorentina, is the new centre of the club’s project.
Juventus: Dusan Vlahovic Is the New Centre of the Project
The Dybala Negotiations
Juventus first began negotiations with Dybala for an extension a few months ago. Juventus were confident of a renewal, but that didn’t happen. Arrivabene says the entire technical structure of the squad has changed after Vlahovic’s arrival, which meant that Dybala was no longer a top priority.
Of course, wages are always a major when discussing a renewal. Juventus were not going to offer Dybala anything less than he currently gets. Arrivabene says this kind of offer would have been disrespectful to the player.
“Today we had a clear, friendly, and respectful meeting (with Dybala’s agent Jorge Antun). It would have been easy for us to make lower offers but they would’ve been disrespectful towards Paulo, we would not have shown the respect there is for him,” said Arrivabene.
Arrivabene went on to say that Juventus will never make a decision they believe goes against the club. Once Vlahovic arrived, Dybala was no longer the centre of the club’s project.
The Vlahovic Era
Vlahovic is only 22-years-old. Although he’s young, he’s certainly ready to be a star.
Before joining Juventus in January, Vlahovic racked up 17 goals and four assists in 21 league matches for Fiorentina. He also had three goals in three Coppa Italia matches. He’s already showing top quality for Juventus this season. In seven Serie A appearances, Vlahovic has four goals and one assist. He also has one goal in two Champions League matches and one assist in two Coppa Italia appearances. His impact on the pitch is extremely noticeable and even more so when looking at his statistics.
He burst onto the scene with Fiorentina last season. Vlahovic finished the 2020/21 campaign with 21 goals and two assists in 37 Serie A matches. In total, the Serbian striker already holds 48 goals and eight assists to his name in his Serie A career. Considering his young age, these are absolutely remarkable feats.
It wouldn’t come as a surprise to see Juventus make several moves in their attack this summer to better complement Vlahovic, especially with Dybala departing.
Strikers Alvaro Morata and Moise Kean are both at Juventus on loan. The club must decide if they’d like to hang on to the players or allow them to depart.
That leaves the other attacking options as Federico Chiesa, Federico Bernardeschi, and the inexperienced Kaio Jorge. Chiesa is still recovering from a major injury, although it’s clear that his talent makes him a major part of the new Juventus project as well.
Dejan Kulusevski is another option, although he’s on a long loan at Tottenham Hotspur and the English club has an option to buy the player.
There will be plenty of movement in Turin this coming transfer window.
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