Arsenal refusing to pay more than £35 million to sign Chelsea target – Reports

Arsenal are reportedly unwilling to splash more than £35 million to rope in Chelsea target and Juventus attacker Dusan Vlahovic next January.

Vlahovic, 23, has been on both the aforesaid London clubs' respective radars for a long time. He is said to be inching closer to a Juventus exit on the back of his sub-par outings in the Serie A this campaign.

A Partizan Belgrade youth product, Vlahovic started the 2023-24 term on a positive note after scoring four goals in his opening four games. Since then, he has bagged just two goals in his past 11 appearances.

Now, according to Italian news outlet TV Play, Mikel Arteta's outfit have decided to reignite their interest in the Serb in the winter window. But, they are not interested in meeting the left-footed striker's £52 million price tag and are believed to stick to their own valuation of £35 million.

Vlahovic, who joined Juventus from Fiorentina for around £70 million in 2022, has scored 29 goals in 78 outings across all competitions for his club. He has also laid out seven assists for Massimiliano Allegri's side.

Arsenal, who are also competing against Chelsea in the race to rope in Ivan Toney, are scouting other strikers as well. They have been linked with Santos star Marcos Leonardo and RB Leipzig's Benjamin Sesko.

Chris Sutton predicts scorelines of Fulham-Arsenal and Luton-Chelsea league clashes

In his column for the BBC, ex-Chelsea striker Chris Sutton predicted a 1-0 win for Arsenal in their league trip to Fulham on Sunday. He wrote:

"This is a huge game for Arsenal after their surprise [2-0] defeat by West Ham United. Fulham have hit a bit of a bump in the road, with three straight defeats, but it is not long since they were flying and scoring loads of goals. Fulham will make it hard, but Arsenal will find a way of winning this one – they really have to."

The Gunners are second in the 2023-24 Premier League table with 40 points from 19 matches, while Fulham are in 13th spot with 21 points.

Predicting a 1-1 stalemate between Luton Town and Chelsea in their league match at the Kenilworth Road on Saturday, Sutton commented:

"Luton are in the relegation zone, but they have an identity and a cause and they always look like they are excited about playing in the Premier League. I am not sure you can say the same about Chelsea, for all the money they spent in the summer transfer window."

Mauricio Pochettino's side are 10th in the standings with 25 points from 19 games, while Luton are 18th with 15 points from 18 matches so far.