Dušan Vlahović left Fiorentina and completed a switch to Juventus last Friday. Prior to sealing a move to the Turin club, the striker was heavily linked to Arsenal.
After impressing for La Viola last campaign, the 21-year-old managed to impress for them again this season, scoring 20 goals and registering two assists in 24 matches.
His form, impressive statistics and refusal to sign a new contract with Fiorentina since last October had alerted top clubs across Europe. This included Arsenal and last month, the Serie A side’s chief, Joe Barone, confirmed his side were approached by English clubs.
The Serbia international and his representatives were reportedly not interested in holding talks with Arsenal. These claims are now confirmed by Fiorentina chairman Rocco Commisso.
Despite sending the Serie A side’s officials to England to negotiate Vlahović’s sale there, a deal never took shape. Commisso suspects the reason for this is because the player had his sights set on joining Juventus.
“It was all very complicated. One day Dusan was messing with the fans. At the end of November, I tried to close the renewal, but his agents were dishonest and liars,” Commisso said, as relayed by Calciomercato.
“We discussed, the meeting was also good, then I was waiting for answers. The next day we gave him the appointment to close. But instead of getting closer to negotiation, they brought us another huge surprise: the contract of €4/5m net a year was no longer enough.
“Dušan wanted €8m net a year. Agent also raised the commission figure: they wanted 10 percent on future resale and exclusivity.
“My managers went to England to deal with foreign clubs, but they [Vlahović’s camp] always said no. They probably already had an agreement with Juventus and perhaps even as a free agent.
“They had the intention of expiring and ruining Fiorentina as is often happening now. They wanted to make themselves rich on our skin.”
