Juventus' Miralem Pjanić to join Barcelona in a swap deal

Barcelona has reportedly reached an agreement with Juventus that will allow the Catalans to sign midfielder Miralem Pjanić for an initial 60 million euros (GBP 54.8 m), with potentially an additional five million euros (GBP 4.6 m) in the form of bonuses.

The 30-year-old Bosnian will move to the Camp Nou on a four-year deal after the ongoing season is completed.

Both clubs confirmed that Barca's Brazilian international midfielder, Arthur Melo, will move to Juventus in a separate deal worth 72 million euros (GBP 65.8 m) along with a further 10 million euros (GBP 9 m) in the form of variables.

It is understood that Arthur and Pjanić would remain with their current teams until the end of the 2019-20 campaign, which is likely to end with the restructured UEFA Champions League knock-out stage in August.

There's a huge possibility that both these footballers could face each other and their future clubs, during the later stages of the Champions League.

In an official statement, Barcelona wrote, "FC Barcelona and Juventus have reached an agreement for the transfer of the player Arthur Melo. The Italian club will pay 72 million euros, plus 10 million euros in variables. Pjanić will sign a contract with the club for the next four seasons, until the end of the 2023/24 season."

Back in 2018, Arthur joined Barca from Brazilian club Gremio and was hailed as the club's future star. Some even predicted that he might go on to become a long-term successor to Xavi Hernandez in the central midfield region.

It has been understood that Barcelona has been hit hard because of the three-month suspension due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. Consequently, they needed to accumulate around 70 million euros to satisfy the current season's budget. The board can generate some immediate profit through Arthur's sale.

On the other hand, Pjanić has quickly become a key player in the Juventus squad. Pjanić began his career in 2007 with French club Metz, where he played 115 games and scored 16 goals. Following his impressive stint in French football, Pjanić headed to Italy's AS Roma, where he scored 30 goals and produced 40 assists in 200 matches over five seasons before joining Juve in 2016.

Although Pjanić played for the Luxembourg national side at the youth level, he chose to represent Bosnia and Herzegovina at the senior stage. Eventually, he became the 3rd most capped (92) player and the 6th best goalscorer (15) in the country's international football history.