Juventus won’t let Barcelona negotiate forever.
Miralem Pjanic quite clearly wants to make the move from Juventus to Barcelona, admiring La Blaugrana’s prestige and style of play. It is indeed time for a change for the deep-lying playmaker, who no longer fits what Juve need in midfield.
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But the Bianconeri can’t lose a star midfielder without replacing him with another.
Even swapping Pjanic for another midfielder would be insufficient, as Juve need upgrades in the middle of the park in addition to Pjanic.
Adrien Rabiot and Aaron Ramsey have not had the desired impact in 2019-2020.
Juventus have been trying to acquire Arthur Melo from Barcelona to even up the swap deal, but there are two issues.
Firstly, Arthur is more valuable than Pjanic. Secondly – and most importantly – Arthur doesn’t want to leave Camp Nou.
Negotiations have lasted for months without any sort of progress, and now Juve are giving Barcelona a deadline so that they can move on and negotiate with another team.
Sport reports that Barça and Juve now have until June 30 to get a swap deal done.
Pjanic has agreed to personal terms with La Blaugrana, but that’s the only part of the deal not fraught with disagreements. Juve will continue to try and work something out with La Blaugrana, but the Spanish club doesn’t have an infinite amount of time to drag their feet. Offers involving Arturo Vidal and Ivan Rakitic, for example, won’t cut it.
Based on Arthur’s reluctance and the lack of options that interest Juve or are expendable to Barça, expect to see Pjanic get a deal to a different club, such as Chelsea or Manchester United. The Bianconeri have interest in Jorginho and Paul Pogba, though the former is a much more realistic target than the latter at this stage.
Pjanic to Barcelona could still happen, but if Arthur isn’t willing to move teams, the Bianconeri must find an alternative. And La Blaugrana must be willing to part ways with someone of value, not just aging midfield players whom Juve have no interest in.