The story of Dušan Vlahović and Juventus has been one of the summer’s most persistent and complex narratives — and today, it enters what could be its decisive phase. The Serbian striker has been sending signals in the direction of the Continassa in recent days, reaching out to former teammates, communicating through back channels to Luciano Spalletti, and making clear that he is open to returning. Carnevali and new Chief Football Officer Frederic Massara will meet Spalletti today for a summit at which Vlahović’s situation will be one of the central items on the agenda.
According to Tuttosport, the door has been reopened. But passing through it will require Vlahović to accept terms that are considerably more modest than anything he previously demanded — and to demonstrate a change in attitude that goes beyond the merely contractual.
The First Obstacle: The Money — and the Conditions Are Take It or Leave It
The financial reality has not changed simply because the relationship has warmed. Juventus are not in a position to be extravagant — not with the wages of returning loan players weighing on the books, and not with the renewals of Kenan Yıldız, Weston McKennie, and Manuel Locatelli already committed. The club has set a clear internal ceiling, shaped in large part by the terms of Yıldız’s own recent extension — and Vlahović will not be offered more.
Carnevali’s position is explicit: just over €6 million net per season for a minimum of two years, with the commissions payable to his father Miloš kept to an absolute minimum. This is not an opening gambit — it is the final number. If Vlahović wants to come back, it will be on these terms. Take it or leave it. The prospect of saving a significant fee — between €25 and €30 million that would otherwise be spent on a replacement striker — makes the financial logic of a renewal extremely attractive from the club’s perspective, even at wages that are higher than they would ideally choose.
The Second Obstacle: The Dressing Room — Less Swagger, More Substance
Money alone will not be sufficient to repair the wounds of a complicated exit. Carnevali and Spalletti are also expecting a visible change of attitude from Vlahović within the group. Less bravado, more humility. The references Vlahović made during previous negotiations — to the salaries of Jonathan David and Yıldız as justification for his own demands — did not go down well. Neither did elements of how the original contract talks were conducted.
On the other hand, the facts of last season speak in his favour. Between April and May, operating well below full fitness and driven by the desire to help a struggling squad, Vlahović took the pitch repeatedly without complaint. On those occasions, his professionalism was beyond question. The club acknowledges that — and it matters.
The Third Obstacle: The Fans — Easier Than It Looks
The third complication is arguably the most straightforward to resolve. Last summer, when Vlahović was publicly marginalised by the then-management, he was booed at the Allianz Stadium during a pre-season friendly between the Juventus A and B sides — and again when he came off the bench against Parma. He did not react. He scored, twice. From that moment, the atmosphere around him transformed entirely — the jeers replaced by appreciation, his performances doing the talking. He knows how to handle this particular challenge. He has already proved it.
The Fourth Obstacle: “We Cannot Make the Wrong Choice”
The fourth and perhaps most significant consideration is expressed in a single sentence from Carnevali earlier this week: “We cannot make the wrong choice.” It is a phrase that explains everything about why the Kolo Muani negotiations have stalled — Juventus will not go above their ceiling on the fee — and why the Vlahović option is being treated with such careful deliberation. He arrives without a transfer fee, with a known quantity of goals, with the full backing of his manager, and with all his technical strengths and weaknesses already familiar to everyone at the club. In a summer of genuine financial uncertainty, that known quantity has very real appeal.
What Happens Next — and Why Besiktas Looms in the Background
Vlahović’s own timeline is growing shorter. He has been offering himself to Europe’s elite clubs without attracting a concrete proposal that meets his ambitions. He holds an offer of €8 million per year from Besiktas — where his former Fiorentina manager Vincenzo Italiano is waiting for him — but has not yet signed it. The money is not sufficient justification on its own, and even Italiano’s personal appeal has not yet been enough to tip the balance.
What Vlahović wants, above all, is a resolution within the next ten days. He does not want to arrive at pre-season as a free agent without a club, and he does not want to be seen following the path of Adrien Rabiot and Paulo Dybala — players who, after long and distinguished Juventus careers, found the road afterwards harder than expected.
Carnevali will let him sweat a little longer — but not much longer. Pre-season is imminent. The attack requires solutions. And of all the options on the table, the one involving the striker who already knows the ground, already has the manager’s full confidence, and costs nothing in transfer fees remains, despite everything, the most compelling.
