According to the Express, Lionel Messi wants Juventus midfield star Miralem Pjanic to replace Andres Iniesta. The report which quotes Don Balon as the original source also states that Messi has asked the Barcelona board to sign the Juve playmaker. It also states that Barcelona flop, Andre Gomes could head the other way as part of the deal.
Ernesto Valverde has a huge hole to fill this summer after Andres Iniesta left his childhood club after a long and illustrious career. Philippe Coutinho is a ready made replacement, Barcelona already have at the club but reports indicate that the club is looking to bring in more midfield reinforcements. There also have been many rumours indicating that Thiago Alcantara might be heading back to Camp Nou. Barcelona in recent times have struggled to control the possession in a game like they used to do in the Pep Guardiola era . Barcelona need a controller like Xavi and a creator like Iniesta to complement Sergio Busquets in the midfield. Coutinho might be able to step into Iniesta’s role in the future but Rakitic has failed to show that he is Xavi’s replacement so far.
Transfer Rumour Reliability
Don Balon(Express quotes them as the source in their report) is the source of this transfer rumour and the Spanish outlet are a Tier 5 source in our Football Transfer Sources Reliability Guide. A Tier 5 source is highly unreliable with their reporting, so unless other sources pick up this story, Real Madrid fans should not get their hopes up too high.
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