Manchester United have reportedly joined Tottenham Hotspur and Juventus in the race to sign Barcelona midfielder Miralem Pjanic this summer.
According to a report from Spanish outlet Fichajes, out-of-favour Barcelona midfielder Miralem Pjanic finds himself a subject of transfer interest from Premier League giants Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur along with Serie A bigwigs Juventus.
Pjanic arrived at Barcelona from Juventus only last summer as part of a swap deal that saw Arthur Melo make the switch the other way. However, it would be fair to say that the move has not worked out well for any of the parties involved. Indeed, while Arthur struggled to nail down a place in Turin due to fitness issues, Pjanic has had it worse at Camp Nou as he was left way down the pecking order under manager Ronald Koeman.
The Bosnian international found himself behind the likes of Sergio Busquets, Frenkie de Jong and teenage prodigy Pedri in the pecking order while even Ilaix Moriba got more regular minutes than him towards the backend of the season. Having been left frustrated by the situation, Pjanic has his sights firmly set on an exit from Catalonia, with Barcelona also happy to see him leave either for a fee or in a player exchange deal.
And, as per the report, there are at least three clubs that vying for Pjanic’s signing and have approached Barcelona over the possibility of a summer switch, namely Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Juventus.
Manchester United have been in the market for a new central midfielder this summer as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer looks to phase Nemanja Matic out of the first-team slowly. With there being question marks over the future of Paul Pogba and Donny van de Beek, who has been a subject of a loan approach by Real Madrid, it would make sense for the Red Devils to bring in a new midfielder, with Pjanic now emerging as a target.
As for Tottenham, newly-appointed manager Nuno Espirito Santo is keen on adding a midfielder who can provide quality with the ball at his feet while being able to do the defensive side of things similar to what Ruben Neves did at Wolves, making Pjanic a viable option. To that end, previous reports have indicated the Lilywhites have already made an approach for the Bosnian, albeit on a loan move.
Juventus’ interest stems from the fact that Massimiliano Allegri is back at the helm of affairs in Turin and is seemingly keen on working with Pjanic after the pair tasted a lot of success during the manager’s previous stint at the Allianz Stadium. Manuel Locatelli of Sassuolo remains their primary target but with Arsenal making a bid for him, the Bianconeri are looking to bringing Pjanic back to the club.
It now remains to be seen who among the three makes a move for Pjanic before the next season starts. As things stand though, the 31-year-old does not have a future at Barcelona and is pretty much expected to be on his way out this summer.