Manchester City linked striker opens door to Premier League after tuning down ‘best salary’ in club history

Fiorentina have reportedly been unable to agree a new contract with star striker Dusan Vlahovic and may be forced to sell the 21-year-old Serbian international next month.

The forward, who has scored 23 goals in 27 appearances for club and country this season, still has 18 months left on his current deal at the Artemio Franchi Stadium but this latest rejection may see Fiorentina cash in on the hitman while they still can.

Journalist Fabrizio Romano spoke to the club’s CEO Rocco Benito Commisso who reportedly said: “Dusan and his agent have turned down our new contract proposal. We offered the best salary in Fiorentina history".

Vlahovic has been linked with a number of clubs over the past six months, including Manchester City, with a report in La Repubblica earlier this month claiming Pep Guardiola was a huge fan of the youngster.

Arsenal have been touted as one possible destination for the forward, who this week scored his 33rd calendar goal in Serie A to equal the current record held by Cristiano Ronaldo.

With Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s future at the North-London club in doubt following recent disciplinary issues, former City assistant manager Mikel Arteta could make Vlahovic a number one priority in the January window.

Also rumoured to be interested in the Serb are Newcastle United, who could use their new Saudi Arabia-backed spending powers to attract the player to St James’ Park.

As for City, they may not be struggling for goals at the moment, but could certainly bolster their squad with the addition of a central striker.

Across his club career, Vhlaovic has scored 50 goals in 130 appearances for Fiorentina and Serbian SuperLiga side Partizan Belgrade, with 47 of those coming in his 103 appearances for the Italian club.

At international level, he is averaging a goal every other game having scored seven in his 14 caps so far.

Last season he won the Serie A Best Young Player award, beating the likes of Inter Milan’s Achraf Hakimi and Nicolo Barella as well as Juventus star Federico Chiesa.

Manchester City set to double Silva’s wages

In other transfer news, City could offer Bernardo Silva a new contract which would double his current salary as a reward for the the midfielder’s fantastic performances in the first half of the season.

The Sun claim the new offer would reportedly put the Portuguese midfielder on £300k p/w, bringing him level with Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling at the club.