Arsenal ‘above all’ in race to ‘rescue betrayed’ €80m striker and Gunners make ‘lucrative offer’ for teen

Arsenal and Newcastle United are reportedly ‘interested’ in ‘rescuing’ Serbia international Dusan Vlahovic from Juventus this summer.

The 23-year-old caught the attention of clubs around Europe at the start of last season as he scored 20 goals in 24 appearances for Fiorentina.

Arsenal were interested in buying Vlahovic during the January transfer window in 2022 but he ended up joining Juventus for a potential total fee of  €80m.

The forward has struggled to live up to this price tag over the past 18 months. He has only scored 23 goals in 63 appearances for the Italian giants.

Juventus are set to miss out on the Champions League after being deducted 10 points for false accounting. This has fuelled talk that Vlahovic could leave the club, with Chelsea and Man Utd among the sides being linked with him. 

But a report from Italian outlet TuttoMercatoWeb claims ‘Arsenal and Newcastle are the two clubs interested in the Serbian’.

Juventus ‘paid 80 million euros for the striker and they are now asking for exactly the same money to give him away’.

Vlahovic ‘refused all other destinations’ to join Juventus and he feels ‘betrayed by the club’ this season as a result of their poor performances.

The Gunners are ‘above all’ in the race for Vlahovic and they are said to be willing to ‘rescue’ him from Juventus. The Turin outfit are ready to ‘say goodbye’ as the attacker’s exit would fund their move for Atalanta youngster Rasmus Hojlund.

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Real Valladolid teenager Ivan Fresneda is another player who has been consistently linked with Arsenal over the past year.

The 18-year-old has made an impressive impact for the La Liga side this term as he has played 24 times across all competitions.

Valladolid are in the relegation places heading into the final day of the La Liga season this weekend and Fresneda is expected to leave the club even if they stay up.

German outlet BILD (via Sport Witness) are reporting that the right-back is wanted by Borussia Dortmund, but he has a ‘lucrative offer’ from Arsenal.

Fresneda is under contract until 2025 and there is understood to be a £26.5m release clause in his deal with Real Valladolid. 

Earlier this year, he admitted that he is “proud” of reports linking him with a move to Arsenal.

“I’m proud, but I always say it: I’m also at a big club, Valladolid,” he told AS.

“I have always valued studies with a view to the future, beyond football. I am a person who likes to learn languages.”

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