"Not a striker worthy of Juventus" - Pundit slams Juve star, says he's not measuring up to ex-players Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez

Football pundit Francesco Oppini has criticized Juventus star Dusan Vlahovic, claiming that his level is nowhere near that of club icons Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez. The Italian analyst said that the Serbian striker isn't a "worthy" leader of the Juve frontline.

Just six months after Ronaldo left Juventus and moved to his former club, Manchester United, the Bianconeri signed Vlahovic from Fiorentina for a reported fee of €83 million. Despite commanding a sizeable transfer fee, the Serbian striker has failed to live up to the hype thus far.

Vlahovic has bagged 41 goals and nine assists in 101 appearances for the Old Lady across all competitions. While those stats seem solid for a striker in the early phase of his career, pundits and media have criticized him severely for his underwhelming output.

Although Vlahovic is only 24 years of age and about to enter the prime of his career, Oppini believes he does not deserve to wear a Juventus jersey. Speaking to Tuttomercatoweb, the pundit compared him to the club's illustrious strikers of the past, saying (via GOAL):

"Juventus without a striker of the same calibre since Cristiano Ronaldo, the rest of the chatter is blown away by the wind along with the recent glorious memories of immortal strikers like Tevez first and [Gonzalo] Higuain then. As of today, Vlahovic is not a striker worthy of Juventus and 12 million a year."

Vlahovic's current contract at Juventus lasts until the end of the 2025-26 campaign.

How does Dusan Vlahovic compare to iconic former Juventus strikers, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Tevez and Gonzalo Higuain?

Serbian marksman Dusan Vlahovic has had an up-and-down two-and-a-half year spell with Juventus thus far. He has shown signs of world-class brilliance, but has also fallen flat on many other occasions.

Vlahovic enjoyed his most prolific campaign in a Juve shirt in the 2023-24 season, bagging 18 goals and three assists in 38 games across all competitions. However, his overall record of 41 goals and nine assists in 101 games falls way short of the iconic strikers that preceded him at the club.

Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, who led the line before Vlahovic, absolutely dominated Italian football in his three years at Juventus. He racked up 101 goals and 22 assists in 134 appearances across all competitions, cementing his status as a Juve icon.

Gonzalo Higuain was one of the best strikers in the Serie A during his spell with Napoli, with 91 goals and 26 assists in 146 games. While he didn't dominate similarly with Juventus (66 goals, 16 assists in 149 games), he had back-to-back seasons with more than 20 goals. Vlahovic is yet to reach the 20-goal mark in a Juve shirt.

Carlos Tevez spent just two seasons at Juventus; however, he finished in the top-three in the Serie A Golden Boot race in both (19 goals in 2013-14, 20 goals in 2014-15). He also helped Juve reach the Champions League final in 2014-15 with seven goals and three assists in 13 games, but they lost 3-1 to Spanish giants Barcelona.

While he is only 24, Vlahovic has a long way to go to match the legacies of Juventus' legendary forwards.