One of the most notable things to come out of Damien Comolli’s first meeting with the Italian media after becoming Juventus’ new CEO was the revelation that the club and Dusan Vlahovic had come to an agreement
to basically table all contract talks until after the 2025-26 season.
This self-described “understanding” or “pact” as Comolli described essentially said that the club is interested in potentially extending Vlahovic beyond the summer of 2026 but also very much not going to give him carte blanche when it comes to meeting his agent’s demands.
That is something, as you might guess, leaves the possibility of a contract extension between Vlahovic and the club that paid a club-record fee for a January transfer in 2022 just that much more difficult than it has ever been.
As Tuttosport outlined on Thursday, the fact that the two sides have their “understanding” is a sign that there is interest for something to happen. But, of course, that comes with certain conditions. The biggest of which, naturally, has to do with what Vlahovic will be asking for salary-wise and what Juventus would actually be willing to pay somebody who has been the highest-paid player in Serie A the last couple of years.
Juventus, however, have their limits when it comes to the salary they would be willing to pay Vlahovic, Tuttosport says. How much you might be asking yourself? That would be €8 million — which is both a hefty price for Juve to pay for a striker who, despite all of his natural talent, is still an inconsistent goal scorer and a steep pay cut from his current €12 million salary.
The idea between putting off contract talks until after the season is an important one for Juventus. It gives Comolli and the rest of the front office — which will hopefully have a new sporting director soon, of course — more time to both see what the impact Luciano Spalletti has on Vlahovic as well as the simple fact of where the squad is at in terms of Champions League qualification. It’s pretty easy to see a lack of Champions League football next season will drastically impact Juve’s finances — especially when it comes to players who are currently on the roster both for the short and long term.
Vlahovic has reportedly gotten interest from the likes of Bayern Munich, Tottenham and others in recent weeks, but he’s also still not in the window in which he can start talking about a move to a new club on a free transfer.
But the only thing that will truly convince Comolli, Spalletti and the rest of Juventus’ management team that Vlahovic is an option beyond May 2026 is him both playing like he has these last few weeks while also scoring more than he has over that span. Is that too much to ask? Maybe, but if you’re going to be paid that much money (even with a pay cut), you have to produce and show that you can be the big-time goal scorer Juve still need.
