In September last year some Fiorentina fans were ready to send him packing. A miss which could have given his team a 4-2 lead away to Inter – an effective match point put on a plate by Franck Ribery – was the unforgivable offence that provoked their ire. At best, they called for a loan spell away from Florence. At worst, they wished he would never be seen in a purple shirt again. They have changed their tune a little about Dusan Vlahovic since then.
That’s the nature of football supporters everywhere, of course. The journey from zero to hero – and sometimes back again – is made more quickly than a Cristiano Ronaldo stepover. Even so, the young Serbian’s rise from a virtual Viola outcast to one of the transfer market’s hottest properties has been a voyage completed with the velocity of a light-flashing Ferrari in your rearview mirror in an Italian motorway fast lane.
It is worth looking back, however, to see just how we got here. It seems hard to credit now, but that much-maligned Inter display was typical of a lot of his time in Tuscany both last season and at the beginning of this campaign. In the summer, a red card against Lazio was another incident that provoked more howls of despair at how unworthy he was of the famous violet jersey. Like a flock of flight attendants, many were happy to show him his nearest emergency exit.
It would take a man no longer at the club – Cesare Prandelli – to spot the diamond in the rough. Spoiled for his choice of misfiring forwards with Christian Kouame and Patrick Cutrone hardly setting the Tuscan heather alight, he showed faith in the 21-year-old boy from Belgrade. The overnight miracle, as they usually do, took a little time in the making.
Vlahovic produced four blank games in a row before repaying his coach’s convictions. In the meantime, his team continued to tumble down the table and the pressure mounted to see him dropped. Suddenly, though, he struck against Sassuolo and began a 20-goal tear in Serie A, which has never seen him go more than three games without finding the net since.
He has hit all kinds of landmarks along the way, including becoming Fiorentina’s most prolific scorer in a season since the great Luca Toni. And only legendary names like Pedro Petrone, Kurt Hamrin and Gabriel Batistuta have also managed a 20+ goal haul as a foreign player in a single campaign for the club. Lofty company indeed for a player some people could not wait to see the back of. Now, of course, they are asking why his contract – which expires in 2023 – has not been extended to infinity and beyond.
It is not just the goals, though, which have turned the critics around – it is the growing confidence with which he has been playing. While comparisons with Zlatan Ibrahimovic seem hugely exaggerated at this stage, he does share the Milan man’s steely look and impressive self-belief. A cheeky Panenka penalty against Juventus hinted at confidence levels much higher than those enjoyed by us mere mortals.
It has all produced a list of suitors as his value – as listed by Tranfermarkt – rocketed above €25m and showed no sign of slowing down. He has started to bully defenders, produce excellent hold-up play and deliver goals in a breathtaking variety of fashions. There are plenty of teams out there who see him as a potential solution to their attacking puzzles.
Fiorentina, of course, would love to keep him in the fold, but we have been here before with the likes of Federico Chiesa and Stevan Jovetic. The side from the Stadio Artemio Franchi has been good at finding talent – remember where the rebirth of Mo Salah began – but not so proficient at keeping it. It will be a mark of the success of Rocco Commisso’s regime if he can handle this affair better than all the previous ones.
Viola fans – even those who once wanted to get rid of him – would like to see a side built around their new star, a team ready to compete for European football again. However, evidence of the club’s ability to do so is in short supply. Signings like Kevin Malcuit, Jose Callejon and Aleksandr Kokorin have left no more impression than a butterfly landing on your pizza dough. They need to start getting it right more often to have any chance of convincing their latest golden boy to stay.
Liverpool, Arsenal and both Manchester clubs are among those allegedly showing interest along with – much closer to home – Milan and Roma. Any one of them would be a big step up the footballing ladder and would be a temptation the player might find hard to resist. In the process, they would be landing a striker with enormous potential who is already starting to deliver regularly and who could, at least in theory, be honed into one of Europe’s top finishers for years to come.
Of course, there are no guarantees of success – particularly if he does leave Serie A behind for the Premier League. However, Vlahovic does look well equipped to cope with any demands that a move outside of Italy might make of him. Whether he stays at Fiorentina to help kickstart a much-needed Renaissance or transfers to one of Europe’s giants it has definitely been a remarkable transformation. And, who knows, maybe the fans who cursed their latest young talent will learn to show a bit of patience with others in future. Don’t hold your breath on that one, mind you.
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