Would Miralem Pjanic be a good signing for Barcelona?

The Bosnian midfielder is a potential summer signing for the club as they search for a midfield upgrade.

Miralem Pjanic has been a star player for Juventus over the past two seasons after joining from Serie A rivals Roma. His presence in midfield has allowed them to control games comfortably rather than relying on their impregnable defence to bail them out. La Vecchia Signora have dominated domestically in recent times with Pjanic winning the domestic double in both seasons at the club. They also reached the Champions League Final in 2017, but Real Madrid proved too much for them as they fell at a familiar hurdle.

He has come up against the Catalans on multiple occasions with mixed success. In the 2017 Champions League quarter-finals, he helped pull apart Barca in the 3-0 win at home before helping restrict them in a 0-0 draw at Camp Nou. However, the group stages last season were a case of roles reversed. Barcelona steamrolled over them 3-0 at home before comfortably coming away with a 0-0 draw at the Allianz Stadium.

The only issue is that his talent is attracting a number of clubs. Manchester City have had a €50m bid rejected by the Turin club, according to Tuttosport. Real Madrid are also rumoured to be interested in signing him based on a Sport report. €80m is believed to be the fee that would start Juventus negotiating over his transfer as reported by Sport. Although they would need to bring in a replacement with Sergej Milinkovic-Savic or Paul Pogba being options.

Next: Barcelona announce pre-season schedule for 2018/19 season.

Why are Barcelona being linked with him?

The Catalans have issues imposing themselves against the toughest opponents especially in the Champions League. An off day for Lionel Messi, which is rare, means the team really struggles. They need a player who can control games from deep, which is why they have been heavily linked with Thiago as well. Arthur Melo is supposed to help in this regard, although he probably won’t be joining until January. He’s also young, so he will have to transition into the team and get used to the tactical and technical demands.

More from Analysis

Thiago coming back has the potential to be a fairytale return, but Pjanic would be more reliable fitness-wise. The Spanish international’s injury issues are a recurring theme over the past few seasons; this has stopped him from reaching the heights he is capable of due to his vast technical ability. It’s likely that the level of his game would improve at Barca due to how he suits the style as well as the quality players around him such as Sergio Busquets and Messi. His injury problems are unlikely to go away, though.

Pjanic has the intelligence to adapt to Barcelona’s system with his creativity and ball circulation being key. The 27-year-old has remarkable set piece ability, which is an added bonus. He could also drop deep to form a double pivot alongside Busquets or even be his replacement for games if needed. His numbers reflect this because he averaged 63.9 passes with 89% success, 1.9 key passes and 4.9 long balls per game across Serie A and the Champions League last season. Therefore, he has the range of passing as well as precision that is needed to break down compact opposition shapes.

Would he fit in?

His time spent under Max Allegri means he is tactically versatile due to the amount of different systems he has played in. He is perfectly capable of playing in either a midfield two or three, with the second option being preferable for Barca. The club needs a deep-lying playmaker and he would fill that role perfectly. Ernesto Valverde’s system has brought more control into Barcelona’s game, after the issues under Luis Enrique, but they still lack a key cog.

It’s likely that it wouldn’t take long for him to understand the demands of the role. He would fill a key need and bring balance to the team. This would be important in taking some of the responsibility off Messi. Therefore, he could focus more on his role in the final third rather than having a major role in build-up.

The major issue is that he would cost significantly more than Thiago. However, his durability and the tough competition domestically means he would be better prepared in the short-term for the high expectations at Barcelona. The Bosnian played 3569 minutes for Juventus in contrast to the Spaniard’s 2099. Therefore, the club would benefit in the long run and should prioritise signing him.

One of either Thiago or Pjanic has to be signed this summer, regardless. They would both have more of an impact than Antoine Griezmann, although he would be an excellent signing. Christian Eriksen is another player the board could bring in to improve the midfield as well.