Juventus and Barcelona are preparing a straight swap between Arthur Melo and Miralem Pjanic, but the Brazilian needs to be convinced.
After Mundo Deportivo reported on Tuesday that Barcelona had given Juve the all-clear to speak directly to Arthur, that suggested the clubs had already agreed a deal in principle.
Juventus and Barcelona are preparing a straight swap between Arthur Melo and Miralem Pjanic, but the Brazilian needs to be convinced.
After Mundo Deportivo reported on Tuesday that Barcelona had given Juve the all-clear to speak directly to Arthur, that suggested the clubs had already agreed a deal in principle.
Now La Gazzetta dello Sport and Tuttosport suggest the proposal they agreed on was an exchange between midfielders – Pjanic going to Camp Nou and Arthur at the Juventus Stadium.
There are two issues standing in the way, the biggest of which is that Arthur doesn’t want to leave Barcelona, as the 23-year-old only joined from Gremio for €31m in the summer of 2018.
The Brazilian made 23 competitive appearances this season, scoring four goals with four assists.
Barca therefore hope that by speaking to him directly, Juve can convince the player to accept the transfer.
The other issue floated by Tuttosport is the competition for Arthur’s signature from Paris Saint-Germain, who would be prepared to offer Leandro Paredes in their exchange deal.
Inter are also believed to be interested in Arthur as part of Barcelona’s bid for Lautaro Martinez, but again the Brazilian is not eager to accept a transfer away from Camp Nou.
Exchanges seem to be the order of the day for Juventus, who are also in talks with Manchester United for Paul Pogba, where they could include Douglas Costa or Alex Sandro in a potential swap.