Barcelona reach agreement for Juventus midfielder

 

Barcelona and Juventus have reached an agreement in principle for the transfer of Miralem Pjanic, claims Spanish outlet Sport.

 

Pjanic is deemed surplus to requirements by Juventus and has been heavily linked with a summer move away to the likes of Chelsea and Barcelona in recent weeks.

 

Juventus want to sign Jorginho from Chelsea and were hoping to use Pjanic as a makeweight to get a deal over the line.

 

However, it has now emerged the 30-year-old will instead join Barcelona, as well as Juventus full-back Mattia de Sciglio.

 

Juventus are sending both players to Barcelona at the end of the season, in addition to €25m (£22.3m) in return for right-back Nelson Semedo.

 

The Old Lady have been forced to play Juan Cuadrado at right-back this season and have earmarked Semedo as a top transfer target.

 

Semedo reportedly had his eyes set on joining Manchester City this summer in a potential swap deal that would have seen Joao Cancelo go in the opposite direction.

 

However, the Portugal international now looks set to join Barcelona in a remarkable money-plus-player exchange deal.

 

Barcelona reach agreement for Juventus midfielder

 

Pjanic has spent the last four years at Juventus after signing from their Serie A rivals Roma in 2016 for £25.4m.

 

The Bosnia international has been a regular for the Old Lady ever since his arrival but Maurizio Sarri wants to overhaul his midfield options for 2020/21.

 

Pjanic has played a direct hand in five league goals in 22 league appearances so far this season by a return of 1.2 key passes per game is his lowest ever in a Serie A campaign.