Dusan Vlahovic’s return to goalscoring form is spearheading Juventus as they look to claim their first Serie A title since 2020. To most club’s, this would not seem like a long time, but in the eyes of the Juventini tifosi, it feels like a lifetime ago.
Last season, as Napoli strolled to Scudetto glory, Vlahovic looked like a spent force, a shadow of the player that the Old Lady spent €83.5 million on to bring to Turin in January 2022. By the end of the campaign, the 23-year-old Serbian international had just 14 goals to his name – Not enough to satisfy his paymasters or the supporters who wanted a new striker to idolise.
The start of the current campaign was better. By matchday four, Vlahovic had netted four times, but then the goals dried up and a back injury kept him sidelined. Everything changed on the 26th of November when the big Serb opened the scoring in the Derby D’Italia against Inter and although this wasn’t enough to claim all three points, the confidence suddenly came oozing back. The real Vlahovic had returned.
As we head into the second half of the current campaign, Vlahovic has already scored 11 times in Serie A, claiming six goals in his last five matches to send Juventus to the summit of Serie A, hitting form at the perfect time in the title race. His fitness has also improved and with the fight for the Scudetto looking to be a two horse race with Inter, Dusan really does look like being the main man if the Old Lady is to reclaim what they consider to be rightly theirs.
Steve Mitchell | GIFN
