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Football365

·29 July 2026

Football365

·29 July 2026

It is that part of the year when most of the better players who have just been released are already being taken up by new clubs, or at the very least have something lined up.

So it feels rather paradoxical that this summer’s most valuable free agent is still without a club as August draws closer.

Dusan Vlahovic has just completed a four-and-a-half-year stint with Juventus. Before that, he spent three-and-a-half years at Fiorentina, which means he now has a full eight seasons of Serie A experience behind him.

And at 26, the Serbian striker ought to be entering the peak years of his career, having reached double figures for goals in the last six of those seasons.

Yet with the new campaign approaching, Vlahovic is still in limbo.

According to Transfermarkt, Vlahovic is the most valuable free agent still available. Their algorithm values him at £30m. But does anyone actually want him?

At the moment, there is not much concrete movement around his future. Manchester United are beginning to be linked, while his name has also been mentioned in connection with Barcelona. But there is nothing yet about agreements, medicals or anything similar.

There is plenty to admire about Vlahovic as a footballer. He is a strong presence up front, able to score with either foot, with his head, or even from free kicks. He can drive forward with the ball almost as well as he can hold it up.

But he is not the full package, with gaps in link-up play, pressing and consistency.

Even so, he surely has to be worth a chance for somebody, doesn’t he?

Maybe it comes down to the gap between the player Vlahovic is, the player Vlahovic might have been, and the player Vlahovic could still become.

When he was coming through at Fiorentina, Vlahovic looked like a major talent. He drew interest from Arsenal, as you may remember, but he convinced Juventus enough for them to spend up to €80m on him when he was only just turning 22.

Sadly, Vlahovic has not quite progressed as many expected. His best goal return in a full season for Juventus was 18 in 2023-24. Last season, he managed only 10.

He averaged around 15 goals a season during his time at Juventus, but that is not the return they paid for. They wanted him to be at least a 20-goal-a-season striker.

It shows that Vlahovic is still not quite at the elite level, and perhaps may never reach it. There is still time for him to improve, but that time is slipping away – and he cannot make much progress without a team to play for.

The biggest reason stopping Vlahovic from finding a new club may well be his wages. Last season, he was not only Juventus’ highest-paid player, but also the highest earner in all of Serie A. As many as 22 players on lower salaries scored more than him.

Vlahovic’s salary reflects the elite player many expected him to become. His output does not.

As a result, the very best clubs will be cautious about Vlahovic’s performance levels. That is why, when the former Partizan player was offered to Barcelona – a club in need of a striker – there was some hesitation.

Clubs just below that level, prestigious and/or ambitious but not right at the top – and that is where Man Utd are at the moment, for example – will also be wary of going too far for him.

Even Juventus might have kept him if he had not stood firm for, according to Tuttosport, €8m a year, which is roughly £132,000 per week.

“With these figures, he won’t remain in Italy, so it is only fair and legitimate that he is seeking a different type of salary,” confirmed Juventus director and Vlahovic’s former teammate, Giorgio Chiellini.

But that sort of figure does not seem unreasonable for some Premier League clubs. They just need to be convinced it would represent good value for money.

And as long as those doubts remain, Vlahovic’s waiting game will go on.

There is an obvious way out. Swallow some pride and simply lower your demands, Dusan. And reports say he would be prepared to do that – but only for the right club.

It is believed Vlahovic would ask for less from Barcelona than he would from Besiktas, one of the other options being discussed. That makes sense as a compromise, but the caution from the club side comes from the fear that they may be compromising on quality.

But there are only so many truly elite strikers around – and even fewer that clubs would willingly let go.

That should make someone good but not great like Vlahovic more attractive, especially as clubs begin to panic the nearer the transfer window gets to its end.

As a free agent, of course, Vlahovic can still sign for a new club after that, but you would imagine he would be eager to get going and prove his point at the earliest chance.

Sadly, he appears set to be without a club when the new season begins. And that would be a huge pity.