Vlahovic Leaves Juventus a Free Agent, Chelsea Lead the Race
After his deal expired on June 30 and extension talks collapsed, Dusan Vlahovic is on the market with no fee for the first time. Xavi Alonso's Chelsea lead the chase.
- Vlahovic's Juventus contract expired on June 30, making him a free agent after four and a half years in Turin.
- He joined in January 2022 from Fiorentina for more than 80 million euros and played over 120 Serie A matches.
- Extension talks broke down over wages: the club offered around 6 to 6.5 million, while his camp wanted to keep close to 12 million net.
- Chelsea are now the frontrunners, with Inter and Napoli interested, and any transfer would carry no fee.
On the last day of June, as summer bags were packed at Continassa and the dressing room emptied out, one locker stayed bare without a ceremony. No farewell video, no scarf held over the head, no last photo with the supporters under the stand. Dusan Vlahovic walked out of Juventus quietly, through the side door, like a man whose contract had run out and who owed no one anything anymore. And that silence tells the loudest story about how a chapter that began with plenty of fanfare came to an end.
The split with Turin is now formal. What had been trailed for months through leaked negotiation details finally has its epilogue: the Serbian striker is a free agent, on the open market with no fee for the first time in his career. For the club that paid a small fortune for him, it is a bitter finish. For Vlahovic, it is doors open on every side.
How did he reach that empty locker?
Vlahovic arrived at Juventus in January 2022 from Fiorentina, in a deal that topped 80 million euros and looked at the time like a signing built for the next decade. A 22-year-old goal machine out of Florence, coming to lead the Old Lady’s attack. He played more than 120 Serie A matches, scored plenty of goals, went through dry runs too, and had those nights when he dragged the team along on his own. But the chemistry with the club never fully clicked.
When the time came to extend, the numbers drifted apart like two lines that never meet. Juventus put an offer of around 6 to 6.5 million euros a year on the table, arguing the wage bill had to breathe. Vlahovic’s camp, on the other side, wanted to keep close to the 12 million net he earned under the old deal. Neither side would blink first, the calendar worked against both, and June 30 arrived before any agreement. The contract lapsed, and that was that.
Who is leading the race to sign him?
A striker of this level rarely stays free for long on a no-fee market. Xavi Alonso’s Chelsea have emerged as the most serious suitor and, by all accounts, lead the race for his signature. The London club has spent months building a young, expensive attack, and a player who arrives with no transfer fee fits their model perfectly. It helps Chelsea that they owe no compensation, so the whole budget can go on wages and bonuses.
Chelsea are not alone at the table, though. Interest is coming from Serie A, from Inter and Napoli, clubs that know exactly what Vlahovic can do against Italian defences because they have watched it up close. Staying in Italy would mean familiar ground and minimal adaptation, while the Premier League would be a fresh challenge and, most likely, a fatter cheque. Vlahovic is at the age where the next signature defines the rest of a career, and this time he chooses on his own, with no club breathing down his neck.
What was a saga about an extension yesterday is now an open contest for a free agent, and stories like that rarely stay quiet to the end in football. Will you be watching Vlahovic at Stamford Bridge next season, or does he return to the Italian pitches he knows so well?
