Miralem Pjanic celebrates after scoring the winner against Brescia (Getty Images)
According to Marca (h/t The Express), Barcelona are interested in signing Juventus midfielder Miralem Pjanic in the summer.
The 30-year-old is a product of Metz’s youth academy. After a season with the French outfit’s senior set-up, he moved to Lyon. He stayed there for three years and established himself. The midfielder then moved to Roma before joining Juventus in the summer of 2016.
The Bosnian has gone on to become a world-class midfielder with the Italian champions, helping them win several trophies including three Serie A titles. He is also one of the most experienced players and is still on top of his game. Thus, the Catalans should manage to secure his services in the summer.
Barcelona, meanwhile, have not been at their dominating best this season. Their earlier performances saw Ernesto Valverde get sacked midway through the campaign. Except for star player Lionel Messi, the whole team has failed as a unit.
Though they are atop the La Liga standings, 2 points ahead of second-placed Real Madrid, the Catalan giants have lacked the intensity. They have been inconsistent throughout the season and Quique Setien needs to bring in changes for the good of the team.
One of the major reasons for their lacklustre performance is the absence of Luis Suarez. The Uruguayan’s season-ending injury put Barcelona in a difficult state without anybody to lead their attack. At the same time, their defence has been shaky on several occasions.
Thus, it is clear that the manager has a lot of work to do ahead of next season if they are to progress in further campaigns. Both the attacking and defensive units need to undergo changes for the team to perform well and stay at the top.
While bringing in reinforcements, the manager should focus on bringing in experience to their midfield department too. Arthur Melo, Arturo Vidal, Ivan Rakitic and Frenkie de Jong are the four attack-minded midfielders available at the manager’s disposal.
Arthur has been a mainstay in the middle of the park and has performed well. However, summer signing De Jong hasn’t lived up to the expectations. Rakitic and Vidal are already ageing and have also received fewer opportunities.
In that regard, signing Pjanic could be a massive boost for the club. The Bosnian international is the engine of Juventus and is one of the key players. In 22 Serie A games this term, he has already scored 3 goals and provided 4 assists so far.
The former Roma man has made over 500 career appearances and his experience could bring stability to Barcelona’s midfield alongside Sergio Busquets. He is also capable of scoring goals from the midfield and could be a valuable player for Setien’s side.
At 30, the midfielder has few more years left to play at a higher level and given his successful run of form, Barcelona could benefit from his presence. The Catalans are also in dire need of midfielders and thus, they should lure Pjanic to Camp Nou at the earliest.
