Analysis
Why is Dusan Vlahovic one of the most wanted U21 in the world?
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If you ask any supporter of any club, or even do a survey of the management from every top club in the world, and ask the question “If you could have the choice of any young player coming up in this summer’s transfer window, who would it be?” There is no doubt that the name Dusan Vlahovic would be amongst the leading vote getters, along with of course Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland, and for good reason, as just like Haaland, he has burst on to the scene and taken Europe by storm, as so far this season, he is the leading goal scorer in the Italian Serie A, at the young and tender age of only 21.
From the moment Vlahovic announced he would be leaving Fiorentina at the end of the season, reports always suggested that Juventus and Arsenal were the clubs that he has been linked with the most. The reason for this is because it was initially the two clubs who were fighting for the then 16 year old Serbian who ended up choosing his current club side Fiorentina, which I suspect was because he thought it would give him the quickest opportunity to prove himself as a first team player, which is obviously a gamble that has certainly paid off, proving that good things always happen when you are willing to place a bet on yourself.
So here’s a question that was asked of journalist and host of The Italian Football Podcast Nima Tavallaey Roodsari, while he made an appearance on the Latte Firm Youtube Channel to discuss this very topic (why is Dusan Vlahovic one of the most sought after under 21 players currently in the world). His answer was: “The reason for the Hype is very simple, when you have a player who has turned 21 years of age who equals the goals scoring record set in a calendar year in the Serie A by Cristiano Ronaldo, that’s going to raise eyebrows, and thats simply it, he’s a goal scoring machine.”
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Also we need to consider the fact that he hasn’t accomplished this at one of the worlds top clubs, this is Fiorentina, a club that until his emergence was in a relegation battle, with club owner Rocco Commisso, uncertain about the clubs future, so while Fiorentina fans may be upset about his inevitable departure, they have a lot to be thankful for as he my have saved the club from going to Serie B, and instead he might get them a European spot and at least €80M to spend in the transfer market, that will no doubt help the club for years to come. He might just be Fiorentina’s best and most important player since Gabriel Batistuta and that’s saying a lot.
And who wouldn’t want a player with those stats and the physic to boot, as he stands tall at 6’3 extremely muscular, who shoots left footed but you would know that when you see him shoot with his right, has stamina and legs to run for days, as when he is subbed off it’s only at the end of games where so far this season he’s made 20 appearances and has scored 16 goals at an average of one goal per every 105 minutes. That’s incredible. Did I mention he’s only 21!
When you look at photographs of Vlahovic through the years, there is no doubt that he has gone through a significant growth spurt like any man his age would, but with Vlahovic it’s not just his size or his muscular physique that impresses, it’s also the fact that for a player his age, he has incredible strength, but of course there is more to this that meets the eye, as no doubt a lot of hard work and dieting are the reason for this change as Nima said in his interview with Latte Firm.
He said: “If you compare the photos of Vlahovic from this season to last year or even six months ago, he has put on a lot of muscle weight, he is no longer the skinny boy who made his Serie A debut, this is a strong guy, he’s put on muscles but usually when players do that it’s a bit of a risk, as their bodies need to adapt and they might lose a little bit of speed, but with Vlahovic thats never really been a problem because his game is not built around speed, it’s more about his ability to sniff out dangerous goal scoring situations and read of the game.
“His physique has only improved what was his weakness, which I think still is his weakness, and thats the link up play, but he is a technical player. I think his physique is the last important step he has taken, he’s grown in muscle mass, and it is all muscle mass, the photos are just incredible when you compare in to only just 12 months ago.
“He’s been working with the help of dietitians, nutritionists and personal trainers to put on this extra weight in muscle mass, and he is very strong. He’s a very big guy and now he’s becoming more similar physically to Erling Haaland who is a beast, and the thing people in Italy were a little bit sceptical about, is that he looked too skinny, and people wondered if he could really do it against Italy’s top defenders who are more physical. Well, he’s put on a lot of muscle mass, you can see it in the pictures, and he’s managed to do that without losing any aspect of his game and it’s actually improved his performance, and that is very impressive.”
Now if that’s not enough to convince that this kid could be the biggest goal scoring machine since Cristiano Ronaldo maybe you should consider watching Nimas entire interview. The link will be featured below. I encourage everyone to give it a look and for the latest info on the Vlahovic Saga, follow @emaxstatman on twitter and check back with our website for daily updates.