It is inevitable that Miralem Pjanic will leave Barcelona this summer. Romeo Agresti, Juventus watcher for Goal, says in a live session with transfer expert Fabrizio Romano on Twitch that the 31-year-old midfielder has a bad relationship with Ronald Koeman. Recently there has been much speculation about Pjanic’s return to Juventus, but Agresti and Romano consider a return to Turin complicated.
According to Agresti, it will not work out between Koeman and Pjanic. In March, the Bosnian midfielder asked through the media for a chance at Barcelona. “I want to ask Koeman to line me up for two or three games so that I can show my game. I want to help the club to win the double this season, I will never give up”, said Pjanic. Our then reported that Koeman had handed out a reprimand and wanted to discharge the midfielder this summer. Indeed, Pjanic’s departure seems inevitable.
It’s no secret that Barcelona are eager to sell Pjanic. Not only does he put a heavy burden on the budget with his salary, but little has been written off on his transfer fee. The exchange deal that made Arthur Melo go the opposite way to Juventus a year ago has entered the books at Barcelona with a value of sixty million euros. The club management of Barcelona has already sat down with Pjanic’s entourage and the conclusion of those talks is that a transfer is difficult to realize given the situation on the transfer market.
ASH reports that Barcelona is optimistic about the departure of Pjanic, which is still fixed until mid-2024. Agresti states that there is little other choice, because the relationship with Koeman is so poor that there is no future for Pjanic with Barcelona. Spanish media see it as a telling sign that Pjanic only got eleven minutes as a substitute in the friendly match against VfB Stuttgart last Saturday. Mundo Deportivo wrote that talks would be held with Juventus on Monday, but Agresti and Romano do not see a return to Turin happening anytime soon.
Pjanic’s priority is with Juventus, but that is not the case the other way around. Juventus have set their sights on signing Sassuolo midfielder Manuel Locatelli, whose lease deal with a mandatory option to buy worth €35 million has been rejected. Agresti and Romano think that Juventus would rather let a breath of fresh air after the return of Massimiliano Allegri than bring back the arrived Pjanic. A major problem is also that Pjanic earns an annual salary of nine million euros in Barcelona.
Pjanic will therefore have to give up to be able to return to Juventus, where he was active between 2016 and 2020. A possible departure of Aaron Ramsey, who la Vecchia Signora tries to wear out in the Premier League could accelerate Pjanic’s return. Agresti and Romano emphasize that Paul Pogba is currently not in the picture at Juventus. Just before the corona pandemic broke out, Juventus was in advanced negotiations with its agent Mino Raiola and a bid at Manchester United was being prepared. That is currently not the case.