GdS: ‘A tug-of-war that benefits no one’ – Vlahovic’s stubbornness sees Milan hopes fade

AC Milan’s hopes of signing Dusan Vlahovic on advantageous terms are fading, as he seems willing to sit in the stands for a year.

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Vlahovic and Juventus are connected only by a contract that expires in a year, which the Serbian intends to stick to. “I’m staying until the end,” he reportedly told the club, reiterating his intention to remain this summer.

Even though he’s become second choice for Igor Tudor, he risks becoming third choice once the club finally completes the permanent acquisition of Randal Kolo Muani. “You’re no longer part of the project,” is the message the club has sent him, even through his agent.

Digging his heels in

However, Vlahovic isn’t giving up, even at the cost of spending a season on the bench rather than on the pitch, definitively going against a fan base that embraced him like an idol three and a half years ago after he arrived from Fiorentina.

He is willing to risk losing his national team spot in the year of the World Cup. It really is ‘a tug-of-war that benefits no one’ and is stalling the Old Lady’s transfer window, forced to sell before investing. So much so that the club are slowly resigning itself to the idea of keeping him, cashing in on other players.

Massimiliano Allegri ‘continues to wink at him’, but so far Vlahovic has turned down Mourinho’s Fenerbahce, Saudi Arabia, and any other destination. No major offers have arrived, but the few he has received have been deemed below his level.

Photo by Christian Bruna/Getty Images

His intention is not to renew (the club have attempted to offer him a lower-priced extension), but the player doesn’t want to give up the €12m net he’ll earn in 2025-26, thanks to a rising contract agreed in January 2022 with the previous management.

For Milan, Vlahovic wouldn’t give up part of his salary, not even for Allegri. It’s out of the question that the Bianconeri could contribute to his salary to strengthen a direct competitor, just as they will not let him leave for pennies.

Without a suitable offer (no less than €20m, roughly the remaining cost of Dusan on the balance sheet), Juventus will keep him. The Bianconeri will have to make money in other ways: Miretti, Savona, Douglas Luiz, Nico Gonzalez and Kelly.