From The Stars To The Stables

In the 63^rd minute at a raucous Stadio Olimpico, his number came up, and he could have little complaints.

Dusan Vlahovic had been mostly a bystander in Juventus’ 2-1 defeat to Lazio in Rome last Saturday evening. The Serb was isolated, failed to get into the game, suffered a blow to his foot, and was inevitably taken off for Arkadiusz Milik. There could be little argument from Vlahovic in truth, his performance had summed up his 2023: uninspired, insipid, and lacking confidence.

Vlahovic is going through a rough period at Juve: only eight league goals all season; 11 in all competitions from 31 games. Vlahovic scored more league goals in the first half of last season with Fiorentina than in entire time in Turin. This wasn’t what Juve paid €80m ($87m) for 15 months ago. In fact, it could be argued that Vlahovic has gone through a rough patch since leaving Fiorentina.

The Serb looks a player shone of confidence and faith in his own abilities. Moreover, the criticism he’s received from Juve supporters has forced the 23-year-old to deactivate his Instagram account. He hasn’t scored in Serie A for eight games, a running stretching over two months, and only found the back of the net twice in 2023 in the league.

Again, it wasn’t supposed to be like this. The arrival of Vlahovic in January 2022 was supposed to herald the start of a new era for Juve, life after Cristiano Ronaldo. Vlahovic was coveted by half of Europe and, most importantly for Juve, he was young. Only 22 when he signed, he broke Juve’s trend of signing strikers in the their mid-to-late 20s (or in Ronaldo’s case, early 30s).

Vlahovic was meant to be the poster boy, along with Federico Chiesa, of a new and vibrant Juve, the two pillars to which the club would build around. The club’s No.9 for the rest of the decade, yet it hasn’t quite worked out like that.

Chiesa suffered his ACL injury against Roma just
just
weeks before Vlahovic signed, and the pair really haven’t played together that often. Moreover, Chiesa’s slow integration back into the first team by Max Allegri which, no doubt welcomed in order to protect the player’s knee, has meant Allegri still can’t use his preferred 4-3-3 formation, and thus denying Vlahovic the kind of service he received in Tuscany.

Without his three most creative outlets in Angel Di Maria, Paul Pogba and Chiesa for majority of the season, Allegri has had to improvise, and stumbled on a 3-5-1-1 system that has, for the most part, worked. If not for the -15 points deducted, the club would firmly be in second place in the table, albeit still light years behind Napoli.

But the collateral damage of this formation switch has been Vlahovic. While he is the focal point of the attack, it’s not in the same manner as it was in Florence. The goals are more shared around at Juve, but this is more due to Vlahovic’s barren spell in front of the net. According to statistical website kickest.it, Vlahovic has missed eight ‘big’ chances this season, ranking him eighth overall among strikers in the league. It’s not just that he isn’t getting as much service as before, yet when he does, he isn’t scoring.

Allegri, for his part, is said to have complete faith in the Serb, and his place isn’t under threat, yet with reports suggesting Vlahovic would contemplate leaving Juve should they not make the Champions League next season, it remains to be seen whether that show of faith is justified. Moreover, it’s also being reported that Juve could decide to move Vlahovic on, considering the club’s debt and potential lack of Champions League football next season would only exacerbate the club’s financial state. Vlahovic is one of the few Juve players who could be sold for substantial money.

Vlahovic needs to regain his form now as we enter the business end of the season. With the Europa League a genuine target and a quarter final against Sporting Lisbon looming, both club and player will be hoping the forward can add to his goals against Nantes and Freiburg to guide Juve towards a semi final clash with Manchester United or Sevilla, restoring his confidence in the process.

What the future holds for Vlahovic in Turin beyond June remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: he can have a big say in how the season ends for both he and Juve.