Serie A star hands Tottenham summer transfer blow; Manchester United considered likely destination

Tottenham are facing competition from Manchester United in pursuit of Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic

Thomas Frank will work closely with chairman Daniel Levy to get transfers across the line at Tottenham Hotspur.

The Danish tactician, who has moved across the capital after seven years at Brentford, will want to strengthen every area of the pitch after Spurs’ struggles in the Premier League last season. The focus is expected to be in attack, as doubts are raised over Dominic Solanke.

Having arrived at N17 in a club-record deal from Bournemouth in 2024, Solanke was expected to fill the void left the by the legendary Harry Kane up top. However, the 27-year-old struggled in doing so, lacking the cutting edge that he possessed during his final season at Bournemouth. His fellow forwards Richarlison and Son Heung-min also underperformed, especially the former whose injury concerns in the capital continued.

Thus, there is a clear need to bring an upgrade on Richarlison—a striker who not only covers for Solanke but also keeps him on toes throughout the campaign. With Richarlison heading for a potential exit in the summer, Daniel Levy must sign a quality replacement that would uplift the quality of Spurs’ attack.

It was reported earlier this summer that Tottenham were interested in signing Juventus centre-forward Dusan Vlahovic. The Turin giants are open to selling the Serbian international for a fee of around £20million. The North Londoners have retained an interest in the 25-year-old, yet thrashing out a deal would not be straightforward.

This is because Spurs are not the only club keen on signing the Juventus striker. According to an exclusive report from FootballTransfers, Manchester United have held direct talks with the representatives of Dusan Vlahovic ahead of a possible move. It is the striker’s camp who are understood to have approached Manchester United, with the Serbian pushing for his dream move to the Premier League this year.

Vlahovic is on course to enter the final year of his contract (Transfermarkt), and with no concrete talks over a renewal, the Serie A heavyweights are open to offloading him in a bid to get his hefty wages off their books. Despite his underwhelming season in Serie A, the 25-year-old still netted 15 goals as Juventus narrowly finished fourth and qualified for the Champions League. The Belgrade-born star’s stock still remains high, as evidenced by interest from Premier League clubs.

More Tottenham Hotspur News:

• Tottenham face competition for €60m ‘highly-rated’ Championship wonderkid; top PL clubs enter the fray
• AC Milan join Tottenham in the race for struggling Juventus star; £20m cut-price deal on the cards
• TTLB Opinion: Should Tottenham be worried about Van de Ven to Real Madrid or is it all agent talks?

It remains to be seen what the future holds for Vlahovic. If Spurs are indeed interested in him, Levy needs to get his act together and beat Man United to his signature. At 25, the ex-Fiorentina man’s best years are possibly ahead of him and he would be an upgrade on the injury-stricken Richarlison. With his physicality, pace and aerial ability, he’d bring a different dimension to the Tottenham attack and flourish under the guidance of Frank, who prefers playing with two strikers.

However, with Vlahovic leaning towards a move to Old Trafford, the North Londoners will need to do some persuading to join their project.