Reports | Juventus agree to £72.5 million fee for Barcelona’s Arthur Melo
After weeks of speculation, Sky Sports has reported that Juventus have agreed to a £72.5 million deal for Barcelona midfielder Arthur Melo. The Brazilian has been heavily linked with a move to the Old Lady although it has been via a swap deal which includes Miralem Pjanic going the other way.
With Juventus looking to rebuild their team in the eyes of manager Maurizio Sarri, the Old Lady have reportedly been busy with moves for Jorginho and Arthur Melo. The Italian had seemed like the very likely option with Sarri overly keen on reuniting with the man he took from Napoli to Chelsea but the rumours over that move quickly disappeared. However, in the last few weeks have seen Arthur Melo’s move to Juventus heat up although via a swap deal that includes Miralem Pjanic.
The Bosnian has been a Barcelona target dating beyond current manager Quique Seiten but despite Arthur assuring the fans that he wants to stay at Barcelona for the forseable future at deal has taken place. Sky Sports has reported that the Old Lady has come to an agreement with Barcelona over a £72.5 million fee for the midfielder and have offered Arthur £4.5 million a year in wages. That is considerably higher than what the Brazilian currently earns at Barcelona.
Sky Sports further added that the 23-year-old is a key part of the plan that Sarri has for Juventus with him looking to mold his midfield around Arthur with Pjanic reportedly set to depart the club within the next few months. However, the former Gremio star is expected to stay at Barcelona with him as reports have indicated that the 23-year-old sees his future at Barcelona and not at Juventus.