Arthur Melo undergoing medical ahead of Juventus transfer

There was a time where Arthur Melo walking through the doors of J Medical seemed like a complete impossibility. He didn’t want to leave Barcelona, he made it be known on more than one occasion and the swap deal that he was rumored to be involved in was very much in danger of happening because Arthur had no interest in leaving the Camp Nou.

That was a couple of weeks ago.

Just around midnight in Italy on Saturday, the thing that we didn’t think was possible just a week or two took place. Mr. Melo, the man who was so staunch in his desire to stay at Barcelona, landed at the Turin airport and hopefully got a good night’s sleep ahead of running on a treadmill and the like.

Arthur has indeed walked through the doors at J Medal — which, based on this whole transfer saga over the past month didn’t even look like it was possible until a few days ago. But, now that Arthur has in fact traveled to Turin and started the final details of his move to Juventus, it’s no long er just paper talk. Even though he almost certainly won’t be a Juventus player this season, Arthur will be part of the swap deal that will see Miralem Pjanic (and €10 million in transfer fees) head to Barcelona come the end of the season and the delayed opening of the summer transfer window.

According to reports, Miralem Pjanic has also arrived at J Medical for his medical exam with Barcelona. (Which, I might add, must be a little awkward seeing as he’s still a Juventus player yet using Juventus’ fancy new medical facility to undergo a medical for his new team.)

There he is, everybody. The newest Brazilian to join Juventus. Yes, even though we will have to wait a few more months for him to actually play a game with Juventus, this is the day that not many of us thought would be happening a week or so ago.

There will be plenty of time between now and then to figure out where he fits into the Juventus midfield. And for all we know, they might not be done when it comes to upgrading and making changes to the area of the field that has trended more and more down the last couple of years. We know Juve need a fresh injection of energy, and acquiring Arthur is the first step in that process. (First is the emphasis, because we know he shouldn’t be the only one.)

Fact is, we heard from Juventus Chief Football Officer Fabio Paratici about how this summer was going to be like nothing we’ve ever seen before, and it is very much looking that way. Not only is there going to be a title race going in July and August, but Juve will likely announce their first signing of the summer in June and then won’t even arrive at the club officially until September. Good times, all of this.