Barcelona: Juventus eyeing Miralem Pjanic return
When the Josep Maria Bartomeu administration pushed for a swap deal of Arthur and Miralem Pjanic, it was a move that didn’t make a lot of sense for the Cules. One season later, it appears that like several decisions, the then Barcelona board got this completely wrong too.
When the move was announced, it left fans, football pundits and viewers across the globe confused and rather baffled. The Catalans decided to send one of their top midfielders, who was touted as the ‘next Xavi’ when he arrived at Camp Nou to Juventus in exchange for Pjanic who was doing well for Juventus but was fast approaching his thirties.
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Arthur was 23 and still yet to hit the peak of his career and had at least half a dozen years of his prime ahead of him whereas Pjanic would arrive at Barcelona after just turning thirty potentially starting to decline in a couple of years’ time.
New boss Ronald Koeman didn’t seem to share the idea of having Pjanic as a key midfielder in his team and he overlooked him for most parts of the campaign. Pjanic seems unhappy with his role at Barca and was uncertain of his future in Catalonia.
Juventus want to reunite with Barcelona midfielder Miralem Pjanic
According to Mundo Deportivo, Juventus are considering a return for Pjanic as Massimiliano Allegri has returned to the Bianconeri dugout. Allegri and the Juve hierarchy held meetings to discuss the market opportunities and the name of Pjanic was on the table.
The Bosnian has had little individual prominence and he could become one of the many players to leave Barcelona. The 31-year-old has just played 1285 minutes of football, in comparison to La Masia gem Ilaix Moriba who played 1538 minutes and was ahead of the former AS Roma man in the pecking order.
The current board lead by Joan Laporta is also contemplating on mass reduction of salaries to replenish Barca’s treasury. Pjanic earns a mammoth 7.5 million euros per season at Barca and that could be drastically reduced considering his role at Barcelona which could push the midfielder to return to Italy.
However, Juventus are also battling financial problems of their own and may struggle to pay an adequate transfer fee as they also aim to reshape the squad. Pjanic will be open to a return to Turin and Barcelona won’t mind selling the Bosnia and Herzegovina international. The midfielder’s future could shape up in the upcoming weeks.
With Gini Wijnaldum arriving at Barcelona, there was a potential risk that Moriba’s game time and development could face hurdles but if Pjanic is offloaded, the 18-year-old can continue his uprising and metamorphosis without any hindrances.
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Will Miralem Pjanic return to Juventus?