Serbia is one of the leading countries in the Balkan region when it comes to football. Red Star Belgrade and Partizan Belgrade are the country’s two most decorated clubs, with the latter also known for its excellent youth academy, which has become a hotbed of talent for the biggest clubs in Europe.
Stevan Jovetić, Matija Nastasić, Stefan Savić and Aleksander Mitrović are some of the household names who have come through the ranks of Partizan’s youth academy and established themselves with top European clubs. Joining the list of top-class Serbian talents is Fiorentina striker Dušan Vlahović, who is another successful product of the Partizan academy. The 21-year-old strike sensation has taken a big step forward this Serie A season, establishing himself as one of the most promising talents in the Italian top flight.
This scouting report, produced in collaboration with The Scouting App, takes a closer look at Vlahović’s player profile, highlighting his strengths and weaknesses, as well as analyzing his performances so far in the 2020-21 Serie A season.
Player Overview
Born in Belgrade, Vlahović took his first steps in football at Altina Zemun school, before moving to OFK Belgrade, where he spent the next three months of his early career. It was not long before Vlahović’s talent was spotted by top Serbian club Partizan Belgrade, where he signed a professional contract at the age of 15.
After signing, the young Serb was immediately promoted to the first team and made his SuperLiga debut aged just 16, becoming the youngest debutant in Partizan’s history. Less than two months later, Vlahović scored his first senior goal for the club against Radnik Surdulica, entering the history books as the youngest player ever to score for Partizan.
Vlahović’s rising profile attracted the attention of numerous established European clubs, including Arsenal, Juventus and Anderlecht, but Partizan’s club management turned down all initial offers. Nevertheless, it was inevitable that the Serb would part ways with his hometown club, which became official in the summer of 2017 when Fiorentina came in calling for the then 17-year-old striker. Vlahović officially joined the Viola in January 2018, but was not eligible to play until the summer of that year.
The Serb made his Fiorentina debut in September 2018 in a 2-1 defeat to Inter. However, Vlahović did not score once that season until he opened his scoring for Fiorentina in the third round of Coppa Italia the following year. He finished the 2019-20 season with eight goals in all competitions and saw his transfer value rise dramatically. The Fiorentina striker is currently valued at €25 million and with the potential he is showing game after game, that figure is only set to rise in the coming years.
Player Profile
Vlahović is a 21-year-old center-forward from Serbia who plays for Serie A club Fiorentina. The 190 cm tall striker is currently playing his third season in Italy’s top flight after making his debut in 2018. In his three seasons in Fiorentina colors, Vlahović has made 69 Serie A appearances so far, scoring 21 goals, an average of one goal every 147 minutes.
Despite his size, the Serb is far from the typical “big man” type of center-forward that football fans and experts have been accustomed to in the past. The 21-year-old has a unique skillset that combines the qualities of a smaller and diminutive striker with the attributes of a center-forward who relies more on his strength and physical side of the game. Thus, such a combination massively increases his ceiling of becoming an all-round center-forward who can do a bit of everything, rather than just being a typical poacher with no other notable qualities to his game.
Vlahović’s physical strength and tall stature make him good at holding the ball up when in possession, a constant aerial threat during set pieces, and a target man for crosses into the penalty area. The Serb then brings in his other side of the game, the one more commonly seen in strikers of lesser stature. Vlahović’s relatively clean technique and decent ability on the ball stand out for a player of his size – the part of his game that gives the Fiorentina striker so much potential to take his game to another level.
What else is impressive about his attributes is the fact that the Serb is not particularly slow for his size either that makes him a great asset for counter-attacking football when needed. Consequently, a mixture of these traits make him suitable for a variety of different tactical formations and styles of play.
After looking at the overall profile of Vlahović, it is important to outline the most crucial attribute of any striker, regardless of other additional qualities – finishing and goal scoring ability. A center-forward who does not score goals can be a burden on the team, no matter how good his other areas of the game are, and the Fiorentina man does not disappoint in this department either.
The 21-year-old is undeniably a born goalscorer, capable of finding the back of the net from a variety of situations and possessing a wide shooting repertoire. Vlahović’s natural instinct to score goals is matched by his incredibly clean and accurate shooting technique, as the Serb is capable of executing all types of shots, including curling efforts, power strikes with laces and precise finishes with the inside of the boot. Furthermore, the Fiorentina man has a remarkable feel for the goal and does not need too many touches before getting a shot off.
The Fiorentina striker is also adept enough to be moved out wide and play on the right side at times, where he uses his dribbling skills to cut inside on to his stronger left foot and subsequently unleash a shot goalwards or play a splitting pass.
Goals can be hard to get without good movement of the ball and spatial awareness. The Serbian striker is the perfect example of how to get into favorable positions for receiving the ball by scanning the pitch and available space.
However, every striker has flaws in his game, and so does Vlahović. The Serb’s biggest weakness comes to the fore when Fiorentina are out of possession and have to defend. Vlahović often looks quite labored and lacks commitment when it comes to closing down and pressing the opposition players. The striker’s lack of engagement in defensive tasks can be seen in the illustrations below.
Another notable weakness in Vlahović’s game is his reluctance to use his right foot more often. The Serb is predominantly left-footed and usually avoids switching the ball to his right even if the situation or angle encourages him to do so.
Vlahovic in the Serie A 2020-21 Season
The fact that Vlahović is good enough to play in one of the top five European leagues can be further supported by some of the key statistical performance indicators.
The Viola striker has scored 15 goals so far this Serie A season, joining the list of the league’s top ten most prolific strikers. Three of those goals were penalties, giving the Serbian the fourth-best figure in Serie A with 11.3 non-penalty expected goals (npxG). As we can see from the graph, Vlahović is hitting the Serie A average for both non-penalty goals and non-penalty expected goals per 90 minutes, meaning that at just 21-years-old, the Fiorentina center-forward is already at a good stage of development in his career.
One statistical area where the young Serb can still improve his game is in the assist department. Vlahović is below league average in all three metrics pertaining to the creative side of the game: shot-creating actions, goal-creating actions, and expected assists (xA).
Conclusion
There is little doubt that Fiorentina have landed themselves a real talent. The young Serb has everything a modern “number 9” needs, which coupled with his fiery and hard-working attitude can see Vlahović playing for one of the top teams in Italy or elsewhere very soon.