It wasn’t long before Dusan Vlahovic was among the most sought-after strikers in world football with top clubs like Arsenal and Juventus chasing the Serbian for his signature in the winter of 2021-22.
However, it was the latter who were successful in getting their hands on the then 22-year-old. Juve were in the hunt for a Cristiano Ronaldo replacement which saw the Old Lady splash 70 million on bringing Vlahovic from Fiorentina to the city of Turin.
Dawning the #7 previously sported by CR7 himself, Vlahovic looked set to be the next big thing for Juventus, and Serie A. Juventus finished the remainder of the 21/22 season fourth on the table, securing a UCL birth in the process. Departures of club legends in the likes of Paulo Dybala and Giorgio Chiellini had set the tone for the team to be centered around their #7 once again.
Bolstering the squad strength with the signings of Di Maria, Bremmer, and Kostic among others had fans expecting the rise of the Old Lady back to the pinnacle of Italian football, with Vlahovic being its black swan.
Come to the business end of the tournament, Juventus sit as low as seventh in the Serie A table, struggling to secure a UCL spot. Far from what fans had expected.
Among the players who have come under the banner of criticism is Dusan Vlahovic. The Serb, who was deemed to be the guiding light for Juve’s march towards glory has turned out to become one of the darker holes of the team.
After a solid start to the season which saw the 23-year-old score four goals in the first four Serie A matches, Vlahovic’s form slumped down in the games that came forward. The striker only managed to net twice in the next six matches.
Things took a much darker turn however weeks before the FIFA World Cup when Dusan picked up an abductor injury following a league match against Empoli. The knock saw the Serbian ruled out of action until the resumption of club football following the World Cup,
Mere days after recovering, Vlahovic was met with another injury which saw the former Fiorentina man miss 10 straight games for the Bianconeri. This period saw Juve suffer a 15-point deduction which virtually ruled them out of the title race.
Fans were hoping for a return to form for the Serbian striker after Vlahovic’s return, and the positivity was amplified when he netted a brace in his second league match post-return. However, the goals against Salernitana were as good as they got for Juve #9.
Last scoring a goal against Freiburg in March in a Europa League fixture, Dusan has gone 8 league games without a single goal involvement for the Bianconeri. To make things worse, the striker has also suffered an ankle injury in Juve’s latest league encounter vs the second-placed Lazio. The severity of the knock is unclear at the time of writing.
Following the 2-1 defeat to Lazio, the ex-Fiorentina man has deleted his Instagram account although, as reported by Calciomercato, it’s unclear whether his decision is linked to his poor run of form.
Scoring 11 goals in 31 games this season has seen Vlahovic fall down the pecking order, oftentimes getting substituted by Arkadiusz Milik.
“The Serbian had been very active on this particular social media platform, sharing posts, stories, and messages” explained the source while breaking the news.
Notably, this isn’t the first time the striker has deleted/deactivated his social media handles. Suffering from a goal drought while his playing days in Fiorentina saw the Serb taking break from Instagram, probably to isolate himself from the outside noise.
Links for a move away from Juventus have started to come to life amid his poor run of form in Turin. It remains to be seen if a transfer comes to fruition for the Serbia international in the upcoming summer window.
