Vlahovic to leave Juventus as free agent after snubbing Arsenal for £66m move in 2022

Dušan Vlahović will leave Juventus as a free agent on June 30, ending a four-and-a-half-year spell at the club that began when he chose Turin over Arsenal in a £66 million move from Fiorentina in January 2022. The 26-year-old Serbia international was unable to agree terms on a new deal after talks with club officials broke down over wage demands that exceeded what Juventus were willing to pay.

Vlahović scored 68 goals in 168 appearances for Juventus, but his time in Turin was marked by inconsistency and injury. This season he managed just 10 goals in 23 appearances across all competitions during an injury-disrupted 2025/26 campaign.

The departure closes a chapter that began with considerable controversy. Arsenal had been strongly linked with Vlahović in January 2022 and tabled a bid of £50 million plus Lucas Torreira, which Fiorentina rejected. Despite being at the top of Mikel Arteta’s wishlist following Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s exit, Vlahović signed a four-year contract with Juventus and publicly stated that Arsenal were never a genuine option for him.

That stance drew sharp criticism from former Italy international Antonio Cassano, who argued on Bobo TV that the move was “sensationally wrong” for a player of Vlahović’s profile. “For the type of player, I think he needed to make an intermediate step to a team like Arsenal,” Cassano said. “At Juve, every match must be decisive. It’s a dangerous weight on him. I don’t see him as a player for Juve.”

Cassano’s assessment has aged with a degree of irony. Juventus failed to win a single Serie A title during Vlahović’s spell at the club, while Arsenal — the side he dismissed — have re-established themselves as a force in European football under Arteta.

Vlahović’s next destination remains unclear, with no club yet confirmed as a suitor for the striker, who will be available without a transfer fee this summer.