Juventus have been working hard to pry away Arthur Melo from Barcelona, but the player doesn’t seem interested in leaving the Catalan club this summer.
Although striker could become a pressing need if Gonzalo Higuain decides to go to River Plate, Juventus’ biggest need is clearly in midfield. The free signings of Aaron Ramsey and Adrien Rabiot did not work out as intended, with the latter almost certainly exiting in the summer transfer window.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Juventus and most other clubs won’t be able to make splashy cash signings this summer. The Bianconeri, however, can get creative with swap deals, and they have been working with Barcelona on a variety of proposals. Their top target? Brazilian midfielder Arthur Melo, who would add the work rate and robustness the Juve midfield needs.
However, Arthur has proven difficult to convince, and Barcelona won’t let him go for cheap. Juve have tried to acquire him straight-up for Miralem Pjanic, but La Blaugrana understandably want more. And even then, it seems difficult for Juve to get Arthur to leave the prestigious Catalan club.
According to a report from Tuttosport, via Sport, Juve have therefore identified two other defensive midfielders in Europe whom they could acquire instead of Arthur.
The first of those names is unsurprising, as Juventus have been linked to Chelsea’s tone-setter Jorginho already. Jorginho is coming off an excellent season in London and is something of a protege for Maurizio Sarri, having worked with the manager at Napoli and Chelsea. Juve could potentially use Pjanic to acquire Jorginho and maybe left back Emerson, who would be a big upgrade on Mattia De Sciglio behind Alex Sandro.
Tuttosport also names Leandro Paredes of PSG as the other potential defensive midfield target for Juventus. Pjanic could be used to acquire Paredes, but since Pjanic is a better player than Paredes, the Old Lady of Turin should be able to get something else from the Ligue 1 giants.
Paredes is 25 years old, which is quite young for a defensive midfielder. He isn’t as inspiring of an option as Arthur or Jorginho, but he’s an above-average defensive presence and an excellent passer.