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Arsenal could be closing in on their first major acquisition of the winter transfer window. According to OK Calcio Mercato via Daily Star, the Gunners have a massive €80 million bid for Fiorentina ace Dusan Vlahovic accepted, excluding bonuses.
The north London outfit have been persistently linked with the striker while head coach Mikel Arteta has made no secret of his desire to bring in a new attacker. That's because the club is currently going through a crisis in the forward department.
Arsenal's prolific goalscorer Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has fallen out of favor following a disciplinary breach last month that also led to him being stripped of the captaincy. The Spanish coach has left him out of his squad since the Gunners' 3-0 win against Southampton on December 11. The Gabonese striker's time at the Emirates is believed to be virtually over.
Eddie Nketiah and Alexandre Lacazette are currently seeing off their contracts, which run until June this year. With no renewal talks in sight, both players have been touted to leave at the end of the ongoing season.
Vlahovic is seen as a good fit for the club and his blistering form with Fiorentina this season has been making waves across Europe.
In 23 appearances for La Viola, he's struck 20 times, including 17 in Serie A from 21 matches, which is the joint-most in the division along with Lazio's Ciro Immobile. The 21-year-old striker has been the chief driving factor in the Florence outfit's push for Champions League qualification, while making his case for being one of the best strikers in Europe.
His muted goal celebration after scoring in Fiorentina's league win over Genoa sparked exit rumors, with the Serbian starlet appearing to apologize to La Viola fans. With Arsenal's bid now seemingly accepted, he's ever closer to arriving at the Emirates.
Arsenal target Vlahovic has personally agreed terms with Juventus as well
Amidst all the cacophony of a switch to the Premier League, however, there's the possibility of a late twist. The report by OK Calcio Mercato also claims that Vlahovic has agreed to join Juventus after the end of his current Fiorentina contract in 2023.
Apparently, the striker has also agreed to a 'penalty fare' with the Bianconeri should he cancel the deal. With less than two weeks left for the winter transfer window to shut, Arsenal will have to pull out all stops to persuade him to snub the move to Turin and come to north London instead.
