Barcelona News: It has been reported that Xavi would have signed Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic in the winter transfer window if he had been given the opportunity.
The 22-year-old was strongly pursued by the Catalans at the time, according to journalist Ramon Besa.
Even though Vlahovic has been in fantastic form this season, this is not the first time that the Barcelona management has shown an interest in him. The club had a chance to sign the Serbia international for roughly £18m in 2020. But they opted to pass on the opportunity.
Vlahovic was already playing for Fiorentina at the time. Although he had only scored six league goals throughout the 2019/20 season at that point. Due to his lack of production, Fiorentina was prepared to cash in on him. His agent even inquired about a possible transfer to Barcelona.
The aforementioned agreement was a loan offer for the remainder of the season. There was an obligatory buy option for £18m at the end of the season. However, that was the least of the problem for the Catalan giants at that point in time.
It was the latter that the Barcelona management, then represented by Eric Abidal, did not agree with it. They were not persuaded of the striker’s talents at the time. As a result, the discussions came to a grinding halt.
“Dusan Vlahovic is a fantastic player. It was two years ago that we discussed the possibility of taking out a loan. We were interested in doing so, but it was not feasible,” stated Ramon Planes, a former Barcelona technical secretary, in an interview with Gianluca di Marzio for SPORT.
Fast forward to the present day. The 22-years-old has emerged as one of Europe’s most sought-after players. He has cost Juventus a stunning €70m (with an additional €10 million in performance-related incentives) to sign him during the January 2022 transfer window.
Dusan Vlahovic made a great start for Juventus
In less than a minute of his Juventus Champions League debut on Tuesday, Dusan Vlahovic scored his first goal in the league, giving him a blistering start to his Champions League career.
The prolific Serbian striker opened the score for the Bianconeri in the first leg of their round-of-16 match against Villarreal at the Estadio de la Ceramica after just 32 seconds.
He scored 49 goals in 108 appearances for the club. He then started to reward the confidence almost quickly, scoring in his professional debut in a 2-0 victory over Hellas Verona after only 13 minutes on the field.
Two years after their first rejection, Barcelona went back to scout Vlahovic. He was scoring goals in Serie A match after match.
The squad’s management would have approached Xavi if the 42-year-old had shown an interest. But the team would have struggled to sign their main target, Erling Haaland, before the summer transfer window closed.
Whatever happens, it will be for the best! Let’s hope that it is for the “best” interest of Barcelona, rather than any other club for now!! Time to wait and hopefully, watch now!!
