Besiktas confirms Vlahovic talks: 13.5 million a season
Besiktas sporting director Onder Ozen became the first Turkish club official to admit talks with Dusan Vlahovic, then said out loud that Turkey is not one of the five strongest leagues.
- Besiktas sporting director Onder Ozen publicly confirmed talks with Dusan Vlahovic on July 27, 2026.
- Vlahovic has been a free agent since his Juventus contract expired this summer, so no transfer fee is involved.
- Italian media report a three-year deal worth around 13.5 million euros per season plus bonuses.
- Ozen admitted the striker is probably holding out for a Champions League club and a contract of a different order.
Sporting directors in Istanbul do not usually operate this way. When a name the size of Dusan Vlahovic comes up, the story is normally inflated to the ceiling, an airport photograph appears, and the supporters are left to finish the script themselves. On July 27, Onder Ozen sat down in front of reporters and did the opposite. He confirmed that Besiktas is negotiating, and in the same breath brought the whole thing back down to earth.
“As for Dusan Vlahovic, the ball is in his court because he is a free agent. If he prefers one of the five strongest leagues, Turkey is not one of them,” Ozen said.
That is, in effect, the first time anyone from a Turkish club has publicly stood behind talks with the Serbian striker. It is also the first time the same man has openly said his club is not the first choice. A rare piece of honesty in a business where every offer is presented as historic.
The context is simple. Vlahovic’s contract with Juventus expired this summer, which means he has been a free agent since then and whoever signs him pays no fee. In transfer arithmetic that matters enormously: money that would otherwise go to Turin stays on the table for wages and a signing bonus. That is why a number of clubs from Serie A and the Premier League showed interest over the summer, though no concrete offer has been closed so far.
Why is Turkey in this conversation at all?
Because it has the money, and because the man on the bench knows Vlahovic better than most. Vincenzo Italiano worked with him at Fiorentina, that partnership produced a striker Italy started treating as a serious name, and the two have stayed in personal contact. Ozen confirmed as much, with the caveat every sporting director knows by heart: players prioritise contracts, not coaches.
The figure circulating in the Italian press is a three-year deal worth around 13.5 million euros a season, plus bonuses. That is not an offer made to fill a squad slot, it is an offer made to build a club’s public face. Besiktas clearly reckons Vlahovic is currently choosing between guaranteed money now and patience that may or may not pay off in September.
What happens next
Ozen effectively spelled out the ending himself: he expects the striker to wait for a Champions League club and a contract of a different order. Translated from the diplomatic, Besiktas has tabled its offer and sat down to wait, aware that it is the fallback in a negotiation controlled by a player without a contract.
For Vlahovic, time cuts both ways. A free agent has the luxury of choosing, but every week without a club means missed pre-season and a later entry into the rhythm of a campaign that starts without him. A striker who has skipped half of pre-season is not the same striker who plays the opening round in August.
Besiktas has done its part: it said out loud what others keep quiet. The rest is down to Vlahovic, and that is the one part of the story nobody in Istanbul can speed up.
In his position, would you take the guaranteed 13.5 million now or wait for the call from a Champions League club?
