Pjanic and Arthur to undergo medicals as Barcelona & Juventus close on midfielder swap - 7M sport

Pjanic and Arthur to undergo medicals as Barcelona & Juventus close on midfielder swap

The two players will cost their new clubs €60 million and €70m respectively in a double deal that will go through before June 30


Posted Sunday, June 28, 2020 by Goal.com

Pjanic and Arthur to undergo medicals as Barcelona & Juventus close on midfielder swap

Miralem Pjanic and Arthur will both undergo medicals on Sunday as Juventus and Barcelona prepare to complete the deals that will see the midfielders switch clubs.

Goal can reveal that, while Brazil international Arthur completes the formality with Juventus, arriving in Turin late on Saturday, Pjanic will on the same day carry out his examinations at Barca.

The agreement between the clubs is not a straight swap, with Arthur moving to Serie A in a €70 million (£63m/$79m) deal and Pjanic going the other way for a fee of €60m (£55m/$67m) - netting the Catalans a total profit of €10m (£9m/$11m) on the ex-Gremio man.

And, with Barca keen to wrap up the business before June 30 for budgetary reasons, Sunday's medical examinations are the final hurdle before the dual transfers can be completed, although the players themselves will not leave their respective clubs until the 2019-20 season is completed.

Arthur moved to Barcelona from Gremio in January 2019 after shining in the Brazilian side's march to the Copa Libertadores title over Lanus the previous year.

He has made a total of 71 appearances for the Blaugrana in all competitions, scoring four goals, but despite early promise has struggled to impress this season, particularly since Ernesto Valverde was sacked as coach and replaced by Quique Setien.

The 23-year-old was nevertheless included on the bench for Barca's Liga clash on Saturday against Celta Vigo, with Setien insisting that he was still a valuable member of his squad.

"I'm counting on him," Setien told reporters on Friday.

"We need to make sure that this noise doesn't affect him and that he is able to give his very best."

Pjanic, who has been with Juventus since 2016 after first starring in Serie A with rivals Roma, played all 90 minutes of his side's 4-0 thrashing of Lecce on Friday that extended the Old Lady's lead over Lazio at the top of the table to seven points.

Coach Maurizio Sarri, like Setien, is also keen to retain his charge until the end of the 2019-20 season, with Juve on the verge of a record ninth successive Scudetto and also still active in the Champions League.

"Concerning Pjanic, we are sure that he will stay with us until the end of August," Sarri signalled after the final whistle on Friday.

"The lad is a great professional, very intelligent and he understands situations very quickly and knows how to adapt."



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