Trasfer: Dusan Vlahovic in shocking move to Arsenal

Dusan Vlahovic has been linked with a host of clubs, such Arsenal; Serb equalled a Serie A scoring record with 33 goals for Fiorentina in 2021; former coaches describe him as a “monster” who is “obsessed” with following in Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s footsteps.

Dusan Vlahovic was an academy player still two months shy of his 16th birthday when the Partizan Belgrade coaching staff decided he was ready for a trial run with the senior squad.

The plan was for the young striker to take part in first-team training for a period of a few weeks, gaining invaluable exposure to men’s football before returning to Partizan’s academy to continue his development with the U16s. But the plan soon changed.

“After one or two training sessions, our head coach, Ivan Tomic, said, ‘This guy is a monster, this is a player who will be worth 100 million euros one day,’ because he showed unbelievable character,” Zarko Lazetic, Partizan’s assistant manager at the time, tells Sky Sports.

“I remember we played a game of 10 against 10. We put him against our vice-captain, Darko Brasanac, who now plays in La Liga, and he pushed him around like he was already a first-team player. He showed unbelievable things for a player of 15.”