As the deal between Barcelona and Juventus regarding the transfers of Arthur Melo and Miralem Pjanic has almost been finalised, let’s take a look at how Pjanic will fit in at Barcelona. Many Barcelona fans will feel hard done by this transfer as they are losing Arthur, who at 23 years old is still young and could have been their midfield maestro for years to come. Instead, they are signing a 30 year old who joins an already aging squad. This deal will help Barcelona in meeting their FFP obligations as player sales are directly booked as profits where as player purchases are amortized across the duration of their contract as explained in this Forbes article.
Read: A look at how Arthur will fit in Sarri’s thrilling 4-3-1-2 formation at Juventus
Barcelona’s 4-3-3 formation with Miralem Pjanic
Although we might see Barcelona involved in a few more transfers this summer, for now Pjanic is most likely to be used as a direct replacement for Arthur Melo in the midfield. Pjanic used to be the deepest midfielder for Juventus but with Sergio Busquets operating in that area, Pjanic would have to adjust to a slightly advanced role. If Barcelona do sign a new central midfielder or use Rakitic in midfield, then Pjanic can be used to replace the again Busquets who has been quite error prone at times.
