According to Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo, Juventus have asked for Ousmane Dembele on loan from Barcelona in a potential swap deal which would see Miralem Pjanic join the La Liga outfit permanently.
Mundo Deportivo (MD) add that talks of a player exchange deal between the European powerhouses were halted after Arthur rejected the chance to join Juventus.
It’s claimed that Maurizio Sarri’s side are happy for Pjanic to leave for Catalonia but are now keen on figuring out what other players they could receive Barcelona in this deal, Nelson Semedo has been heavily touted but the full-back has plenty of offers – one of which coming from Manchester City.
MD add that the Serie A champions have now expressed an interest in taking Dembele on loan as part of the Pjanic deal, with the view to signing the tricky attacker permanently next summer.
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As per BBC Sport, Barcelona agreed a deal worth up to £135.5m for Dembele back in the summer of 2017, the Frenchman has massively struggled since his marquee move to the Catalan outfit.
As well inconsistent form, the France international has been seriously hindered by injury troubles, given this it’s not surprising that Juventus would only initially want the ace on a loan deal.
MD hint that this could prove to be a smart move by the Italian outfit as they’d be able to better assess the 23-year-old and would have the chance to sign him for cheaper next year – as there would be less one year remaining on the star’s contract.
It’s suggested that Dembele’s future is in a bit of a sticky sport, Quique Setien is reportedly an admirer of the ace, however the ace isn’t one of the few players that the club have deemed non-transferable.
To make things trickier, Barcelona may have to consider parting ways with the skilful winger in some form this summer as they already have Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Antoine Griezmann in attack.
The La Liga outfit also bolstered the ranks with Martin Braithwaite in an emergency signing, wonderkid Ansu Fati could also be a factor and the club have already pre-agreed a summer deal for another wide player in Francisco Trincao.
Juventus on the other hand seem to be in need of bolstering in this area as Juan Cuadrado and Douglas Costa are perhaps past their peaks and Federico Bernardeschi has failed to live up to expectations.
Dembele is such an exciting player to watch, it would be a real shame for football to lose out on such a talent due to injuries, perhaps he needs a new club to reignite him after a difficult spell with Barcelona.