Barcelona's chances of completing midfielder deal boosted, manager makes contact

Barcelona's chances of offloading Miralem Pjanic this summer got a major boost after Napoli entered the race for the midfielder. The Catalan club are desperate to get the Bosnian off their books as they look to bring their over-inflated wage bill under control.

Pjanic has been told by manager Ronald Koeman and Barcelona's director of football Matheu Alemany that he is surplus to requirements. He has not been part of the first-team squad for either of Barcelona's opening two games of the season.

The 31-year-old has attracted interest from clubs in Italy and England, with Juventus leading the race for his signature. Pjanic's agents held talks with the Serie A giants, but are yet to reach an agreement over a move this summer.

Massimiliano Allegri is keen to sign Pjanic while the midfielder also wants to reunite with his former manager. However, despite interest from both sides, the two clubs have failed to reach an agreement, with Juventus also required to offload at least one midfielder to make room for the Bosnian.

The potential obstacles in the deal has seen Napoli enter the race to sign Pjanic. According to Mundo Deportivo, the club's manager Luciano Spaletti has spoken to the Barcelona midfielder about his project in order to tempt him to choose them over Juventus this summer.

Pjanic is desperate to engineer a move away from the Camp Nou. It is the only way he can guarantee regular game time this season. Moreover, Barcelona are open to allowing the former AS Roma midfielder leave on a free transfer as long as interested clubs are willing to pay the player's wages.

Juventus have signed Italian midfielder Manuel Locatelli from Sassuolo, but are open to signing Pjanic as well. However, they will first need to find a new home for Aaron Ramsey, who has been made available for transfer. The Welshman is one of the highest earners at the Serie A club, but has failed to generate any interest thus far.