One of Barcelona’s most bizarre transfers during the era of Josep Maria Bartomeu would have to be Miralem Pjanic. The Bosnian midfielder joined the Catalans in 2020 in an extremely strange transfer move. The Catalans at that moment had a young and growing Arthur Melo in their squad and Bartomeu decided that the player would not be worthwhile in the future and thus decided a swap deal with Juventus for Pjanic.
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Although it was not officially deemed to be a player swap, the deal was as good as a swap. Barcelona sold Melo to the Old Lady for a fee of 72 million euros while the Turin side sold Pjanic for a fee of 60 million euros. Bartomeu may have thought at the time that he made a stellar move, and made 12 million in profit, however, it was Juventus who made the correct deal.
Everyone was baffled by the swap deal considering the fact that Pjanic was an aging midfielder while Melo was yet to enter his prime. The deal did not make sense squad-wise or financially, it was a big mistake for the Catalans. Now at the age of 31, after just one season with the Blaugrana, Pjanic is ready to move on. Due to his age, the Catalans should not expect much, however, several clubs are interested in the player.
Miralem Pjanic is by no means an average player, he can be a terrific midfielder, however, he did not find his pace at the Camp Nou, and Ronald Koeman does not have any space for him. With the club already boasting a ton of talented players in the midfield, Pjanic has been shunned off to the bench and it is just more sensible to sell the player. Thus without any further ado, let’s take a look at the clubs where Miralem Pjanic could end up next season.
#5 AC Milan
Pjanic’s first choice would obviously be a Serie A club as he is wishing for a return back to Italian football. The Milan side who saw their derby rivals pick up the Scudetto last season will be hoping to come back with a bang. The Rossoneri had an amazing season themselves, and fought with Inter for the first position during the mid-season. Inter ran away with the trophy at the end however, Milan secured second place and will be back in the UEFA Champions League for the first time in seven years.
The Italian giants will be hoping to have a more positive 2021/22 season and for that, they will need some more reinforcements. They are already linked with Chelsea star Oliver Giroud and have also confirmed two loaned players to their club. Sandro Tonali and Fikayo Tomori will join Milan permanently from next season onwards and Pjanic will be hoping that he is next. The Italians do require a defensive midfielder as a backup however, Pjanic wants more time on the field and that is something Milan cannot give him, thus the move seems unlikely.
#4 Juventus
Miralem Pjanic made quite a name for himself during his four-year stint at Juventus. The Bosnian played a total of 172 games for the Old Lady and scored 22 goals while providing 41 assists. This may seem like a low number, compared to the games he had, however, Pjanic is not a player who goes out looking for goals or assists. He is conventionally a defensive midfielder and his job is to gain control of the midfield while making a lot of key tackles and interceptions in order to make life easier for the defenders.
He did his job quite well and won four Serie A titles with the club, as well as two Coppa Italia. He would love to make a comeback to the club and Juve would love to gain back his services however, with the club already strongly linked with Manuel Locatelli, it is unlikely that they will spend big to get back Pjanic. The move might not be completely off however, it all depends on the midfielder from Sassuolo, where he decides to go.
#3 Everton
Another club that the Catalan man could end up joining is Everton. The Toffees just lost out one of their best managers to have ever managed them, Carlo Ancelloti, and have brought in another big name, Rafa Benitez. Everton has always had the knack of bringing big players to their club and they are desperately trying to fight with their Merseyside rivals, Liverpool. While the Reds have gone on to win the Premier League and UCL lately, Everton is yet to win their first trophy since 1995.
Benitez could bring in Miralem Pjanic to strengthen up their midfield and the defensive midfielder will work well with former Real Madrid man, James Rodriguez, playing in front of him. While Everton would love to bring a player of Pjanic’s quality to the club, the lack of European football and trophies to fight for would be a huge hit for Pjanic. The player might not be willing to move to a mid-table club right now, as he believes that he can still fight for trophies in the next season.
#2 Arsenal
According to Spanish news and media outlet, SPORT, Arsenal is the first club to have made an official bid for the Barcelona player. The 31-year-old player, who is in desperate need of game time, could consider a move to the North London side. The Gunners have been fighting their derby rivals, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur for the veteran midfielder, have reportedly made the first move and are thus currently leading in the race to sign the player. Arsenal had already signed a defensive midfielder last season, Thomas Partey, thus it is quite likely that Pjanic is being brought in as a substitute.
This is not ideal for Miralem Pjanic however, recent reports suggest that Arsenal star, Granit Xhaka, could be on his way out of the club. He made sure not to make any commitments to his current club when asked about his future in an interview, and this suggests that he could be looking for a new club. Should the defensive midfielder leave the Gunners, that would open up a space for Pjanic and the Bosnian would be more than happy to fill up that spot.
#1 Tottenham Hotspur
Finally, the club which has been most strongly linked with the player is Tottenham Hotspur. The English side has been linked with the player for more than a week now and it is about time that we see an official bid from the North London side. While their rivals, Arsenal, might be trying to steal the player from them, Tottenham is in a better financial position and can easily outbid the Gunners.
The new manager, Nuno Espírito Santo, seems to be quite interested in bringing the player to his club and Spurs’ sporting director, Fabio Paratici, has already worked with the player at Juventus before, thus it will not be too hard for him to convince the player to join the London side.
Which team would suit Miralem Pjanic?