Juventus offered two underwhelming midfielders by Barcelona

Juventus are ready to upgrade their midfield for the 2020-2021 season, and they have identified Barcelona youngster Arthur Melo as one of their top targets.

Prior to the 2019-2020 season, Juventus signed Adrien Rabiot and Aaron Ramsey as big-name free agents to bolster the midfield. While both players flashed talent at times, neither of them made a profound impact on Juve’s usual midfield trio set-up.

So now, the Old Lady are looking for alternatives in the 2020 summer transfer window, hoping to score some player swaps with funds limited due to the economic collapse in football during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Juventus are targeting Barcelona’s Arthur Melo above many other options, with Sandro Tonali seen as an heir apparent among Serie A youngsters.

According to a report from SportsMediaSet, via JuveFC.com, veteran midfielder Miralem Pjanic is not seen as “indispensable” by the Bianconeri and is ready to move to Barcelona.

The problem is that while Juve want to swap Pjanic for Arthur, La Blaugrana understandably don’t want to trade an ascending midfielder for Pjanic, who has shown his age over the course of a full league season.

Instead, Barcelona want to give Ivan Rakitic or Arturo Vidal for Pjanic, with the latter having once excelled in Serie A for the Old Lady.

Neither player interests Juve, per the report, nor should they. Vidal can still be effective, but he is not going to transform Juve’s midfield. It would be a waste of an acquisition, and he probably isn’t better than Pjanic.

As for Rakitic, his play has fallen off greatly. A reunion with Sevilla is his best option, since no club should have any interest whatsoever in a player who has gone from world-class to a lethargic chronic fouler and massive liability in Barça’s midfield.

Barcelona and Juventus will continue to work on hammering out a deal, but the Bianconeri may have to find a creative way to get their man. Arthur is their clear target.