Dusan Vlahovic’s former coach has said Juventus need more quality around him to get the best out of the Serbia forward.
The 22-year-old joined the Bianconeri from Fiorentina in January and, like many of Massimiliano Allegri’s players, has struggled to find his best form.
Vlahovic has just six Serie A goals since his arrival, having found the back of the net 17 times for Fiorentina in the first half of the campaign.
And Zarko Lazetic, who worked as assistant manager when Vlahovic was at Partizan Belgrade before joining La Viola in 2017, said the forward will improve once the whole team does.
“Juve invested a big fee so it’s normal there were big expectations,” Lazetic told TuttoJuve.com. “My answer, though, is he could not have done any better.
“His performances have been in line with the the team’s, I have really not liked the way they have played.
“He has struggled to find the right movements, often the right balls haven’t reached him. But his first season at Fiorentina wasn’t the best.”
Asked whether he felt higher quality team-mates around him would help Vlahovic improve his performances, Lazetic added: “Yes, that’s exactly it. The attackers respond to the team’s game. Dusan is no different.
“Should the quality on the pitch improve, he will be the next leading goal scorer in Serie A.”
Lazetic worked as assistant for former Roma midfielder Ivan Tomic during his stint as Partizan manager in 2015-16.
Vlahovic exploded onto the scene in Serie A with Fiorentina as he scored 21 league goals in the 2020-21 season.
He continued that form at the start of this campaign to earn a transfer to Juve which could be worth up to €80 million.