The Basics
Age: 23
Club: Juventus
Nation: Serbia
Position: Striker
Footed: Left
Under contract until: 2026
Born in Belgrade, Vlahović began his youth career in Serbia at OFK Beograd, before briefly playing for Red Star Belgrade and then moving to their rivals, Partizan in 2014
He became Partizan’s youngest ever player when he debuted two years later as a 16-year-old, and later their youngest goal scorer.
Vlahović was signed by Fiorentina in the summer of 2017, but due to administrative issues, couldn’t join the Italian club until 2018. He played in 10 games in the 2018/19 season but didn’t score.
After making 34 total appearances in 2019/20 and scoring eight times, Vlahović broke out the following season, netting 21 goals in 40 games.
This scorching hot form continued into the 2021/22 campaign. Vlahović scored 20 times in 24 games and earned a transfer to Juventus worth up to £69million in January 2022.
Since the move, Vlahović has scored 23 goals in 63 appearances for Juve. His time in Turin has been somewhat interrupted by various nagging injuries.
For his country, Vlahović has 13 goals in 21 appearances.
The Links
Sam Dean of Telegraph Sport claimed in May that Villa are considering a move for Vlahović. Mary Carmen Torres of Spanish news outlet Marca also reported Villa to have an interest in the striker.
The Scouting Report
Strengths
Vlahović is a traditional poacher-style striker who plays on the shoulder of defenders and is always looking to get behind them and in on goal. He curves his runs to stay onside and keeps opponents off balance by weaving in and out as he sprints towards the box.
He gets himself in positions in the penalty area to pounce on opportunities and attacks the near post looking to latch onto crosses. Vlahović ranks in the 64th percentile for touches in the penalty area among Serie A forwards since 2019.
The Serbian is a deadly finisher and can score with either foot or his head. He hits the corners even when the ball is bobbling, or he has to take a shot first time. Vlahović is calm in front of goal and eyes up the goalkeeper before slotting the ball past them or lifting it over them.
Vlahović ranks in the 70th percentile for non-penalty goals and the 72nd percentile for non-penalty expected goals (xG).
A regular penalty taker, Vlahović can also take free kicks and has some impressive dead-ball strikes on his record.
He is a handful at 6’3” and shows the ability to hold the ball up and bring teammates into play with soft first touches and accurate passes.
The striker has no problem being physical with defenders, bumping and grappling with them or screening them so a ball can reach one of his teammates.
His power helps him to keep the ball, wriggle away from defenders and ride tackles. He is useful in the air as well ranking in the 68th percentile for aerial duel win rate.
Vlahović drives with the ball to put defenders on their heels and has a trick in his bag, flashing a stepover here and there to throw them off. He has enough pace to get behind defences or intimidate them when carrying the ball.
Defensively, there are some encouraging signs. Vlahović showed he can press defenders and chase them down. Versus Sassuolo earlier this season, his pressure caused a giveaway which eventually led to him scoring.
He will position himself on defenders so the goalkeeper can’t pass to them and drops back behind the ball when needed.
Weaknesses
Vlahović is an old school striker, and that means you often don’t get much from him besides scoring goals.
He’s not hugely interested in dropping deep to receive the ball and in the main just stays in line with the opposition defence.
His link up play is hit and miss, sometimes struggling to control the ball or playing passes behind teammates. Vlahović ranks in the 17th percentile for pass attempts, the 27th for pass accuracy and the 23rd percentile for miscontrols.
Despite his height, there are instances where he isn’t competitive enough in the air, not going up for headers or losing them too easily.
The defensive work he shows is few and far between. He definitely doesn’t waste energy and is mostly idle off the ball. Vlahović ranks in the 22nd percentile for tackles, the 35th for interceptions, the 24th for blocks and the 35th for clearances.
His style means he often strays offside, ranking in the 26th percentile, and like a lot of strikers if they don’t get the ball, he can be a bit petulant.
Fit With Villa
If Villa somehow pulled this transfer off, they would have a truly clinical striker who operates at a different level than even Ollie Watkins on top form.
He leaves something to be desired in other areas, but in games where the opposition are tough to break down and chances are at a premium, Vlahović can be the decisive player.
Is it realistic? Probably not, but Juventus have real financial issues right now, have just been deducted points which dropped them into the UEFA Conference League, and depending on a decision to be made by UEFA, could be dumped out of Europe entirely.
Vlahović is likely to have more prestigious suitors if he were available for transfer who could offer Champions League football, and he’d cost a lot of money, but there’s no harm in Villa trying.
Similar Players
The ten closest statistical comparisons, according to FBREF, are:
- Borja Iglesias – Real Betis
- Luka Jović – Fiorentina
- Cyle Larin – Valladolid
- Ollie Watkins – Aston Villa
- Patrik Schick – Leverkusen
- Patrick Bamford – Leeds United
- Elye Wahi – Montpellier
- Erling Haaland – Manchester City
- Terem Moffi – Nice
- Antonio Sanabria – Torino
Transfer Targets Series
The Villa Ramble 
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