Juventus Set to Offer Star Midfielder Miralem Pjanic Bumper New Contract Amid Barcelona Interest
By Tom Gott
Juventus have reportedly identified midfielder Miralem Pjanic as the man they want to build their future around amid interest from La Liga giants Barcelona.
Italian outlet Gazzetta dello Sport are reporting that Juventus see Pjanic as key for the future, and are preparing to offer him a new contract to reflect his importance to the team. He currently earns around €4.5m a year, but Juventus want to increase this to €6m plus bonuses.
The report claims Juventus want Pjanic and forward Paulo Dybala to be the future of the club, and lead them on and off the pitch.
With legendary goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon leaving the club this summer, Juventus have decided that now is the time to act on rebuilding their squad. The likes of Claudio Marchisio, 32, Andrea Barzagli, 37 and Giorgio Chiellini, 33, are all coming towards the end of their playing careers, meaning Juventus needs to rejuvenate their side.
The club see Pjanic as the perfect man to build this new core around. In Dybala, they have one of the most exciting young attackers in world football, but Juventus do not want to stop there. They are reportedly identifying a shortlist full of exciting young players.
Juventus are attempting to rebuild the Italian core in their team. They have already replaced Buffon with Genoa's Mattia Perin, and there are reports linking them to Roma's Lorenzo Pellegrini.
They are hoping that Pjanic will be incredibly influential in welcoming new signings, as well as teaching them what it means to be a Juventus player.
Pjanic joined Juventus from Roma in 2016 and has gone on to represent the club 91 times, scoring 15 goals and assisting a further 21. His influence from midfield has drawn many admirers, but it appears as though Juventus have no intentions of losing the Bosnian.