According to Sky Sports, Juventus are set to sign Arthur Melo for a rather substantial fee of €80m from Barcelona – before selling Pjanic to Barca for around €65m at a later date.
The deal has been stalling for well over a month as it stands. Arthur Melo had previously stated his intention to remain with the Catalan giants and fight for his place. But the latest report from Sky Sport is that a deal in principle is close to being agreed between both sides.
According to the report, Maurizio Sarri wants to build his midfield around Arthur, quite similar to the setup he had with Jorginho at Napoli and Chelsea.
Juventus have also offered the 23-year-old an increase in salary, compared to his deal with Barcelona – a reported €5m a year.
Talks are also continuing between the two clubs over a move for Miralem Pjanic, but as it stands, they disagree on the value of the player.
Sky suggest that Juve value Pjanic at €70m but Barca think he is not worth just €10m less than Arthur.
Both teams are reportedly keen to complete the deal before June 30. From a financial point of view, the deal makes sense for both clubs considering it balances the books for both clubs. It’s a particular habit for Barcelona especially as they followed a similar trend for Cillisen and Neto.
However, Juventus are the biggest winners considering they’ll be getting a much younger Arthur and disposing an under-performing and far older Miralem Pjanic.
The Brazilian has made 70 appearances and scored four goals since joining Barcelona from Gremio in the summer of 2018. Although, the 23-year-old has started just one of Barcelona’s three games since the restart of La Liga in June.
In his stay at the club, Arthur has grown to be popular with fans and is also in the squad for his side’s night’s clash at home to Athletic Club in La Liga.
