Dusan Vlahovic is set to complete a move from Fiorentina to Juventus for a reported fee of around £62.8 million.
The Italian giants had a bid accepted by their Serie A rivals earlier this week. The Serbian striker will join the club when there is doubt over the futures of leading forwards Paulo Dybala and Alvaro Morata.
Read: Paulo Dybala: The key factors behind his Juventus contract dispute
Since breaking into the Fiorentina first-team setup last season, the 22-year-old has smashed in 38 goals in just 59 Serie A appearances.
Fans will hope that Vlahovic can fire them back to the very top of Europe’s elite. After scraping into the Champions League places on the final day of last season, Juve have again struggled this term. That is despite the return of Massimiliano Allegri as manager last summer.
They currently sit in fifth place in Serie A, 11 points behind leaders Inter Milan. The Old Lady have also played a game more.
Read: Inter Milan CEO offers grave warning over the future of Serie A
But Vlahovic’s arrival has created a considerable buzz around the club. One particular club legend is also excited about the move – and has compared the Serbian to two of the best players in world football.
Gianluigi Buffon on Dusan Vlahovic
Gianluigi Buffon played for Juve across two different spells, between 2001 to 2018 and 2019 to 2021.
He is one of the greatest goalkeepers ever to play the game. Buffon won an incredible 22 trophies with the club and helped them to four Champions League finals. He was named the World’s Best Goalkeeper of the 21st Century by IFFHS in 2020.
Now playing for Serie B side Parma, the 44-year-old saw many players come and go during his time in Turin. Getting a warm accolade from such a player about your abilities is undoubtedly highly valued.
Read: Parma unveil Buffon signing with cinematic superman video
That is precisely what Gianluigi Buffon has done in assessing Dusan Vlahovic ahead of his big-money move.
Speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport, he said: “[The signing] is huge and surprising. Vlahovic is the best young player in the world with [Erling] Haaland and [Kylian] Mbappe.
“He has something different. He is the evolution of the number nine, physically strong and dynamic. If I were Juventus, I would be excited by an attacking duo with Vlahovic and Dybala.”
How have fans reacted to the Vlahovic signing?
As he arrived for his medical on Friday morning, Vlahovic was swamped by excited fans who had been anticipating his entrance.
Football fans took to the r/soccer subreddit to assess the quality of the signing of the 22-year-old and Buffon’s comments.
One wrote: “For all the hype surrounding Haaland, I think this guy will be the real deal. He’s such a scrapper, shoots from everywhere and makes his own chances.”
Another said: “He is a physical freak with a killer mentality. He is going to be huge in the next decade barring injuries.”
And a third fan added: “He has 41 goals in 64 games with a mid-table team. Not really crazy to put his name there. If he was at Real or PSG then people wouldn’t complain so much about this.”
One fan, however, opted for the more cautious approach. They said: “People really like to over-analyse everything. It’s just a club legend hyping the new signing.”
Juventus fans will undoubtedly be hoping that Vlahovic hits the ground running for his impending new club.
Featured Image Credit: Getty
