Barcelona's midfielder transfer gathers pace, agent sets meeting

Barcelona's wish to complete the transfer of Miralem Pjanic is nearing reality with the player's agent scheduling a meeting with Juventus this week. The Catalan giants are desperate to see the back of the Bosnian midfielder, which will also help the club massively in terms of reducing their over-inflated wage bill.

Barcelona president Joan Laporta and director of football Matheu Alemany had both confirmed that they are looking for a new club for Pjanic during Memphis Depay's unveiling. The 31-year-old has attracted interest from Premier League clubs Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur alongside Serie A clubs Juventus, Inter Milan and AS Roma.

Pjanic's preference has always been to return to Juventus and reunite with former manager Massimiliano Allegri, who took over from Andrea Pirlo, this summer. The two clubs, however, are yet to reach an agreement despite both sides being open to the move.

According to Mundo Deportivo, an agreement could be closer than it has ever been after Pjanic's agent Fali Ramadani arranged a meeting with Juventus sporting director Federico Cherubini this week to rattle out a deal. Allegri has also given his approval for the Serie A giants to bring the Bosnia international back to the club.

There are just two hurdles Juventus have to cross - the first is for Pjanic to agree a salary reduction, and the second is the Serie A club's need to offload at least one other midfielder, most likely Aaron Ramsey.

The first one will not be a problem after the midfielder instructed his agent that he is ready to take a pay cut, but the second remains a concern with not too many clubs showing interest in the Welshman. The only club interested is Wolverhampton Wanderers from England, but Ramsey is unsure about moving to Molineux.

Pjanic arrived with much fanfare from Juventus in 2020 as part of a deal that saw Arthur Melo move to the Italian side, but failed to impress in his debut campaign. He started less than 10 games and failed to contribute a single goal or an assist in all his appearances.