Report: Juve will only take Arthur Melo in a Miralem Pjanic swap deal with Barcelona

Arthur Melo has said that his preference is to stay with Barcelona because it’s the place that he feels best suits his playing style. The problem with that is, of course, that the transfer rumors surrounding Juventus’ potential pursuit in a swap deal with Miralem Pjanic aren’t going to be going away any time soon.

Sorry, Arthur. They aren’t.

And, according to Sky Sport Italia’s Gianluca Di Marzio on Sunday night, Barcelona acquiring Pjanic via the new en vogue business dealing of the swap deal hinges on the Brazilian’s willingness to actually accept a move to Juventus. From Di Marzio’s report:

Arthur is the only option. Juventus position regarding Miralem Pjanic’s potential transfer to Barcelona is clear, they will only accept the 23 year old Brazilian in return since he’s considered the ideal reinforcement for Sarri’s midfield, but there numerous uncertainties: starting with the fact Arthur has yet to give his approval for the transfer, which at this time is on standby.

According to recent reports, Pjanic would join Barcelona only if Arthur is included, which excludes other other options like Semedo at this time. There are still potential deals with Paris St Germain who area ahead of Chelsea with players involved in the potential negotiations.

You might notice that second paragraph and wonder why the heck Nelson Semedo’s name is suddenly being brought into the mix. Well, it’s because the 26-year-old Barcelona defender was the subject to a rumor of another swap deal earlier in the day involving Juventus with Pjanic heading to Spain. In said deal, Pjanic, Mattia De Sciglio (???) and €25 million would head to Spain with Semedo — who Barcelona signed for €30.5 million in 2017 — coming back to Juventus. That, obviously, doesn’t exactly seem like the most logical swap deal that has been thrown out there by the European press in recent days.

So, for that reason, we’ll stick with Di Marzio’s reporting for now.

The first couple sentences of the above report pretty much sums it up. If Juve truly agree to a swap deal involving Pjanic going to Barcelona, it will be for Arthur. But, there’s obviously reluctance on Arthur’s part seeing as he’s very much a fan of Barca and feels like that’s the place where he feels like he can be at his best. That complicates a lot of things — especially when you consider just how much Juve’s transfer deals (and no matter how many swap deals) happen may hinge on getting the right kind of future destination for Pjanic.

This obviously isn’t the end of Pjanic Watch. Not by a long shot, folks. But with things still somewhat unclear as just how Italy is going to handle the resumption of training, the fact that transfer rumors — especially those involving a certain Miralem Pjanic — are becoming more and more prevalent these days.