Serie A giants Napoli are reportedly considering signing Miralem Pjanic on loan from Barcelona in the summer transfer window.
According to a report by Spanish publication SPORT, Miralem Pjanic is the subject of interest from Napoli over a possible move in the summer transfer window. The Serie A giants want to secure the services of the Bosnian midfielder from Barcelona in a loan deal amid uncertainties surrounding the future of Fabian Ruiz.
Miralem Pjanic joined Barcelona from Juventus in a bizarre swap deal that saw Arthur move to Turin. The pair of transfers has not worked out as envisioned for any of the four parties, with the two midfielders struggling to impose themselves at their respective clubs. Pjanic failed to convince Ronald Koeman in the 2020/21 season, and Barcelona decided to loan him out to Besiktas last summer.
The 32-year-old has enjoyed a reasonably successful season at Besiktas, turning out 26 times while chipping in with four assists, although the Turkish giants will not play in Europe next season. But Pjanic will not join Besiktas permanently in the summer transfer window, returning to Barcelona before likely embarking on a new adventure. And his next destination could be Napoli.
The Serie A giants are sweating over the long-term future of Fabian Ruiz, with the Spanish midfielder yet to sign a new contract at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium. With Ruiz’s current deal set to run out next year, Napoli might need to keep their options open and scour the market for a possible replacement.
Interestingly, Ruiz has been linked with Barcelona, although recent reports have claimed that the Catalan giants are cooling their interest in him. Nonetheless, Ruiz could leave Napoli in the summer transfer window, prompting the Partenopei to look for a replacement. Pjanic has thus emerged as a viable target for the Serie A heavyweights.
Napoli could look to sign the Bosnian international on a season-long loan, with the deal likely to give them the option to sign him permanently from Barcelona. While Pjanic will not be a like-for-like replacement for Ruiz, he could still help fill the creative void that would open up if the Spaniard decided to leave Napoli.
But Napoli might have to contend with some of their Serie A rivals in the race to sign Pjanic, recently linked with AC Milan and Inter Milan. It will also be interesting to see if Barcelona will be open to loaning the veteran midfielder out again or look to offload him permanently instead.
