Manchester City's hopes of signing Dusan Vlahovic this summer look to have taken a blow, after Fiorentina's asking price for the Serbian was revealed.

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport (via Football Italia), Fiorentina have significantly raised their asking price for the 21-year-old striker from €40m (£34.4m) to €60m (£51.6m) ahead of the summer.

City were recently linked with a move for the former Partizan Belgrade striker as they eye up a replacement for the legendary Sergio Aguero this summer, with the Argentinian striker confirmed to be leaving when his contract expires at the end of the season.

Whilst Pep Guardiola's side have played without a striker on a number of occasions this season, failing to bring in a natural striker in the summer would leave them with just Gabriel Jesus and 18-year-old Liam Delap as options for the Spanish manager up front next season.

Therefore, it seems likely that the Citizens will attempt to sign a striker this summer and after Erling Haaland's extortionate asking price was revealed earlier this year, Vlahovic could have been a cheap alternative.

Although he would still be significantly cheaper than the Norway international, this news on Fiorentina raising their asking price for Vlahovic will certainly come as a blow to City, and Guardiola will surely be frustrated that teams are asking for so much for young strikers at the moment, especially in a post-pandemic transfer market.

The Serbia international could still prove to be worth the inflated asking price, however, as he has hit 21 goals in 34 Serie A appearances so far this season, earning an impressive 6.93 average rating from WhoScored for his performances.

Former Serbia striker Darko Kovacevic was full of praise for Vlahovic recently, saying:

“He is just 21-years-old and is showing great things.

“I don’t say this because he is Serbian like me, but because he is a very high-level player and a hard worker.

“If he continues like this, in three, four years he will be among the top five best strikers in the world."

Therefore, Vlahovic is clearly destined for big things in the future and would have perhaps been an excellent addition to City's side this summer, but his increased asking price may well discourage Txiki Begiristain and Guardiola from bringing him to the Etihad.

Given teams know that City need a striker and that they are a very wealthy club, selling teams will almost certainly be boosting the prices of their players if the champions-elect come calling and that, understandably, will have Guardiola fuming as he looks to improve his squad.

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