Besiktas confirm loan signing of Miralem Pjanic from Barcelona

Besiktas have confirmed the loan signing of Miralem Pjanic from Barcelona until the end of the 2021/22 season.

Pjanic initially signed for Barca last summer in a swap deal with Juventus, which saw Arthur Melo go in the other direction, but the deep-lying playmaker (or regista if you want to be fancy or Italian) never really settled at Camp Nou.

The former Roma and Juventus man made just 19 La Liga appearances in total last season, and was firmly behind the likes of Pedri and Frenkie de Jong in the pecking order.

With gametime seemingly set to be as limited this season, and his €8m per year salary not helping Barcelona's financial situation at all, Pjanic has now made to the Turkish league giants on an initial loan deal.

As well as moving on loan, Sky Sports Italia reporter Matteo Moretto has stated that the Bosnian has agreed to a 60% reduction of his salary - with Besiktas paying €2.75m of his new €3.2m year wage packet and Barca paying the rest.

Pjanic had been linked with a number of clubs this summer as part of Barca's much-needed mass exodus of players. Juventus were rumoured to be interested in making a deadline day swoop for their ex-midfielder, and Fiorentina were said to be keen before signing Lucas Torreira on loan from Arsenal instead.

The midfielder joins Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann, Emerson Royal, and Ilaix Moriba as casualties of La Blaugrana's costing measures this summer, with the club bringing in Memphis Depay, Sergio Aguero and Luuk de Jong as replacements - yes, that Luuk de Jong.