Arsenal have made formal bid for Dusan Vlahovic but face hurdle

Arsenal have made a formal bid for Fiorentina striker Dusan Vlahovic, according to Tuttomercatoweb.

The Gunners have been linked with the Serbian on a regular basis over the past three weeks, and there appears no end to the transfer saga.

It is known that the north London club are keen on landing his signature, but there continues to remain a big hurdle in finalising a deal.

According to TMW, La Viola have now received a €70 million offer from the Gunners which has been accepted. However, there is a twist.

Fiorentina are ready to sell Vlahovic with his contract expiring in 18 months, but he has no plans of leaving the club until the summer.

The 21-year-old is willing to wait until the end of the campaign to assess all options available to him.

Our view:

Vlahovic has developed into one of Europe’s most fearsome strikers. He has bagged 20 goals and four assists for Fiorentina this term.

His goalscoring ability has grabbed the attention of the Gunners, who are definitely in need of more firepower to boost their top-four prospects.

There is no denying that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has shown signs of regression while Alexandre Lacazette has not been a regular goalscorer.

Lacazette has excelled with his hold-up and link-up play, but tends to squander key scoring chances. A fine example was against Liverpool in midweek.

The Gunners definitely need more efficiency leading the line, and Vlahovic would be a big upgrade up front for the back end of the league campaign.

The hierarchy are desperate to sign him this month as they may have no hope of signing him in the summer with likely interest from other elite European clubs.

Manchester City, Juventus and Bayern Munich are among clubs that have been linked. The Gunners could face a losing battle regardless of their European status.

Stats from Transfermarkt.com

Read: Arsenal pushing to close deal for Arthur Melo.