For one very obvious injury-related reason, we have not seen much of Dusan Vlahovic much lately. Although, the last time Juventus actually played on their home field, Vlahovic was unsurprisingly looking rather stylish and then celebrating Pierre Kalulu’s game-tying goal just outside the tunnel at the Allianz Stadium like a mad man.
As one would regardless of how those previous 95 minutes went.
But the month of February — one that has not been very enjoyable in terms of results for Juventus — is coming to a close and that is what is viewed as the point in time in which Vlahovic is expected to return from the groin injury that has kept him out since early December. In fact, according to Tuttosport on Thursday, Vlahovic may well be trying to be fit enough to be available to Luciano Spalletti for next weekend’s trip to the italian capital to face Roma in a very important clash in the race for the top four.
But there’s something else of note in that Tuttosport piece: Vlahovic is still thinking that staying in Turin is an option to consider despite the fact that his contract expires at the end of June.
Vlahovic has reportedly kept the door open for a potential return to Juventus despite the fact that there haven’t been any significant contract talks lately. He has also gotten interest from other clubs around Europe, with Barcelona being quite interested in bringing him in as a potential Robert Lewandowski replacement, Tuttosport said. The Catalan giants are reportedly Vlahovic’s “top priority,” according to Tuttosport.
His former manager Max Allegri and AC Milan are also monitoring the situation. Same goes for Premier League clubs.
So, as you can see, he’s not necessarily down to just renewing with Juventus because there’s potentially nowhere else to go. But he would also need some reassurances if he were to re-sign with Juventus — which, you can probably imagine, have a lot to do with the fact that the club probably isn’t willing to even come close to matching his Serie A-high €12 million net salary that he has been paid the last couple of years.
Therefore, since it’s Friday and Tuttosport has given us this little nugget of information, this latest round of the BWRAO Groupthink series asks the question: Should Juventus keep the door open to bringing Vlahovic back on a new deal next season? Or has that ship sailed and they would be better off moving on come the summertime?