London giants Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly edged Manchester United to the signing of Miralem Pjanic from Barcelona.
According to a report by Daily Express, Tottenham Hotspur seem to have taken the lead in pursuit of Miralem Pjanic. The presence of new Managing Director of Football Fabio Paratici has tipped the scales in favour of the London giants as compared to Manchester United, with the Bosnian set to leave Barcelona in the summer transfer window.
Miralem Pjanic joined Barcelona last summer in what has proven to be a disastrous deal for the Catalan giants as well as the player. The 31-year-old midfielder’s massive wages have added to the financial woes of the Blaugrana, with the player managing to start just 13 of the 54 matches that the club played last season.
With Barcelona in desperate need to part ways with some of their high earners to balance their books, Pjanic is reportedly one of the leading candidates to be offloaded this summer. Such a situation has piqued the interest of Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur among several others.
Manchester United have been linked with a myriad of midfielders this summer as they continue phasing Nemanja Matic out of the first-team picture. With Paul Pogba facing an uncertain future in yet another transfer window, it is hardly surprising that the Red Devils would want to sign a top class midfielder.
To that end, Pjanic is one of the players linked with Manchester United, although he will only be a short-term solution for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, considering he is already on the wrong side of 30. On the other hand, the interest from Tottenham in the Barcelona outcast makes a little more sense.
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With Moussa Sissoko being highly inconsistent last term and Harry Winks, who has coincidentally been linked with Manchester United, possibly on the exit trail, Spurs are likely to enter the market to sign a midfielder who can be a reliable partner for Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg while competing with Giovani Lo Celso and Tanguy Ndombele. Pjanic, to that end, is a viable target for the London giants.
Tottenham now seem to have edged clear of Manchester United in the race to sign the Bosnian from Barcelona, owing to the presence of new Managing Director of Football Fabio Paratici. The 48-year-old was a part of the Juventus boardroom when Pjanic was signed by the Bianconeri, spending four years in Turin before he joined Barcelona last year.
What now remains to be seen is if the north London giants to end up beating Manchester United to the signature of the experienced midfielder this summer. For now, what does appear to be certain is that Pjanic is likely to leave Barcelona, who will, in turn, ease up on their wage bill.
