Juventus, Chelsea open talks for blockbuster swap deal

Miralem Pjanic of Juventus (Photo by Erwin Spek/Soccrates/Getty Images)
Miralem Pjanic of Juventus (Photo by Erwin Spek/Soccrates/Getty Images)

Juventus will be among the teams looking to make a splash in the summer transfer window with major needs in the midfield and at striker, but they will have to swing a swap deal.

Over the past couple of weeks, Juventus have been negotiating a swap deal with Barcelona, who are keen on finally adding Miralem Pjanic as a deep-lying playmaker. Although Juve have needs across the midfield, Pjanic’s lack of robustness makes him an unideal fit, and the Old Lady want to sign someone younger.

As such, Juventus have targeted Arthur Melo, but Barcelona are driving a hard bargain and the player doesn’t seem interested in leaving the Camp Nou.

So now, Maurizio Sarri may be turning his attention to his former protege Jorginho. Sarri and Juve had already been linked to the Chelsea holding midfielder, but now things are heating up.

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According to a report from Fabrizio Romano for The Guardian, the Bianconeri and Chelsea have now opened talks for a swap deal that would bring Pjanic to London and Jorginho back in Italy with his preferred manager.

Sarri, of course, managed Jorginho at Napoli to great success and then at Chelsea to a lesser degree of success. But lately. Jorginho has returned to flourishing for the Blues.

At the age of 28, Jorginho is two years younger than Pjanic and should be the more valuable player. He is a superior defender who can keep things ticking as a passer, and he would be a great fit for Sarri and Juventus.

Pjanic has more technical quality and ability as a whole, and he could awaken Chelsea’s attack with long balls to the likes of Christian Pulisic, Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham, and new star Hakim Ziyech.

Pjanic is also wanted by PSG, but a swap deal for Jorginho could be in Sarri’s best interests. It will be interesting to see how Chelsea value Pjanic, because this deal seems possible. At least, it looks far more likely than a Pjanic/Arthur swap, which would have been ridiculous from Barcelona’s perspective.