If Arsenal are able to loan or sell Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang before the January transfer deadline, there’s even more reason for the Gunners to find a replacement.
La Nazione, cited by The Sun, suggest that the North Londoners want to make Fiorentina’s Dusan Vlahovic their second-highest earner if they can get a deal done with the Serie A outfit.
They were handed a significant boost in that regard too, with it reported early on Friday that La Viola were open to selling the striker, despite earlier rejections of the same.
MORE: Klopp praises Arsenal star
Sky Sports quote Fiorentina chief executive Joe Barone’s words to La Nazione regarding the player’s current situation.
“Some English clubs have made contact with Fiorentina, but there’s no agreement and there can’t be if someone… [doesn’t talk],” he said.
“In any case, we’re open (to selling).
“The English clubs want Vlahovic, but evidently he’s got other ideas. We’re ready to negotiate, but him and his agent won’t talk.
“There’s been no communication from the player and his agents, although I asked them to be clear about their wishes.”
The difficulty therefore, would seem to lie in the fact that the player doesn’t appear to be too fussed about going anywhere at this stage.
Great news for Fiorentina of course, but not so much for Arsenal who appeared to be set on recruiting the 21-year-old striker, one of European football’s hottest properties.
There’s still plenty of time left for any deal to happen of course, and now that Fiorentina have effectively put a price on the player’s head, that could move things along more swiftly.
Vlahovic will also know that in a World Cup year, if he’s able to continue his trajectory in the Premier League, he’ll be front and centre for the next few months and make it nigh on impossible for the selectors to leave him out.