Barcelona need to overcome three obstacles to complete midfielder deal

Barcelona are desperate to get Miralem Pjanic out of the club this summer but have three obstacles to get past with Juventus, who are keen to sign the midfielder . The Catalan club have made a number of first-team stars available for transfer, but are yet to find bidders owing to the financial struggles of clubs across Europe.

The Bosnian midfielder arrived at the Camp Nou last summer but failed to make an impact in his debut La Liga campaign. He was not trusted by manager Ronald Koeman last season and has been told that he is not part of the manager's plans for the 2021-22 season.

Pjanic was left out of the squad for Barcelona's opening game of the La Liga season against Real Sociedad, which they won 4-2. According to Italian media outlet Calcio Mercato, the Catalan outfit is ready to force his transfer and are even open to letting him leave on a free, despite spending €60 million (£50.9m) to sign him last summer.

Barcelona are hoping that if the player agrees to the move, they will be saving three years of wages, which could amount to around €30 million. However, the player is not keen to leave such a large amount of money on the table and walk away on a free transfer.

At the moment, the only positive is that Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri is keen to sign Pjanic and the player is open to joining The Old Lady. Barcelona and the Serie A giants have three obstacles they have to overcome, if they are to complete the deal before the Aug. 31 deadline.

The first is Juventus' pursuit of Sassuolo and Italy's Euro 2020 star Manuel Locatelli. The Serie A club is keen to finalise a deal for the young midfield sensation and will not make any other additions in midfield until he arrives. The two clubs are yet to settle on a fee, but there is complete agreement from the player's side.

The second is Juventus' need to make room for the potential arrival of Pjanic. Despite Allegri's recent praise, the club are willing to sell Aaron Ramsey, but the midfielder has not attracted concrete interest even from clubs in the Premier League.

The final obstacle facing Juventus and Barcelona is Pjanic's potential wages. While the Bosnia international is willing to take a minor pay cut, his current pay remains above Juventus' reach and the Italian club want Barcelona to contribute at least 20% of the player's wages, especially if the deal is a loan with an option to buy next season.