OFFICIAL: Miralem Pjanic joins FC Barcelona from Juventus
Following Arthur Melo's move in the opposite direction, the experienced Bosnian international will embark on a new chapter of his career at the Camp Nou
It's official: Miralem Pjanic is now an FC Barcelona player. Following the confirmation of the swap deal between Juventus and Barça, which will see Arthur Melo join the Serie A giants, Pjanic has penned a four-year deal at the Camp Nou.
Pjanic has the vision and creativity very few players in the modern game possess. Ever since he broke onto the scene as a 17-year-old with Metz, then later with Juventus for five seasons, he's developed and improved to become the complete midfielder. No longer found higher up the pitch, he's instead someone who controls the tempo and finds those pockets of space in which he can hurt the opposition.
EXCELLENT WITH THE BALL AT HIS FEET
Another key element to Pjanic's style is the way he hits the ball. At Roma, for example, he became the footballer with the highest success rate for freekicks across all of Europe's top leagues. He also led the assists charts in his last three seasons with Roma (2013-16). Pjanic is also capable of holding onto possession, knows when to drive forward and shoot, and is one of the best ball-playing midfielders in Europe.
The downside to Pjanic is that he isn't particularly quick and some have accused him of going to ground far too easily. Over the last few seasons, he's also picked up more injuries than usual.
He'll join Barça as a 30-year-old but his performances for every club he's represented have always been excellent. Pjanic will hope to continue that at the Camp Nou.
