ARSENAL’S failed pursuit of Dusan Vlahovic in January could come back to haunt them.
The 22-year-old sensation ended up joining Juventus in a £62million deal, and is already drawing comparisons to the great Cristiano Ronaldo.
Vlahovic has hit the ground running since snubbing Arsenal and joining JuventusCredit: AFP
Vlahovic scored on both his Serie A and Champions League debuts for Juve after rebuffing interest from Arsenal in the winter transfer window.
And prior to Vlahovic’s return to old club Fiorentina in the Coppa Italia semi-finals, which Juventus won 1-0, Juve vice-chairman Pavel Nedved heaped praise on the striker.
He gushed: “I’ll be honest, Vlahovic surprised me too. There are comparisons to some of the tops like Cristiano Ronaldo.
“I knew he was a very good player, but he was born in 2000 and if he continues with this mentality, he can really do great things.”
The Gunners will be left kicking themselves if Vlahovic turns out to be even half as good as Ronaldo.
But four goals in seven games for Juve already suggest Nedved might be on to a winner with the Serbian international.
He went on to say Vlahovic can achieve anything in the game, with the future ‘belonging to him’.
Nedved continued: “I am convinced the future belongs to him. He is really intelligent, knows how to prepare for games, is very humble and that is so important for a player to become a champion. He really is on the right track.
“It is really nice when these young players who are hungry and humble come to ask you for advice. You feel useful.”
The Gunners made Vlahovic their No1 target to replace Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in January.
A number of bids were tabled throughout the winter window, but Vlahovic snubbed a move to London in favour of joining Juve.
During his unveiling as a Juventus player, Vlahovic himself revealed it had been ‘easy’ to turn down a move to Arsenal.
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