Although the Juventus midfielder is keen on a Camp Nou switch, a swap deal is unlikely to happen.
An exchange deal between Barcelona midfielder Arthur Melo and Juventus midfielder Miralem Pjanic is away.
Before this week Juventus chief football officer Fabio Paratici verified that talks between the two sides are continuing, though he declined to name specific players involved with the talks.
Juventus are understood to be keen on Arthur, who joined Barcelona from Gremio in July 2018 and has made 23 appearances so far for the Catalans in 2019-20.
Though Juve boss Maurizio Sarri would love to bring from the Brazilian midfielder, Target can affirm that Barcelona are not interested in a swap deal between both players unless Juventus include money also.
That would appear to close the book on any exchange bargain, with Juve simply open to supplying Pjanic in a straight swap for Arthur with no cash changing hands.
Instead, Barcelona will only allow Arthur to depart Camp Nou if another club produces a significant deal, with Quique Setien’s side looking to raise funds for a possible off-season bid for Inter forward Lautaro Martinez, amongst others.
Additionally, although Pjanic is open to moving to Barcelona after four seasons with a Serie A champions, Arthur isn’t interested in a move to Juventus.
“There is obviously speculation but my thought is clear. The only option that interests me is staying in Barcelona,” Arthur said last week.
Both clubs have been set to input an uncertain transfer window since the coronavirus pandemic continues to cause significant economic instability in leagues around Europe.
Barcelona’s extended pursuit of PSG star Neymar has already been set on the back burner, as Target confirmed earlier this week that the Catalans would not have the funds available to attract the Brazil celebrity back this summer.
The Blaugrana are looking to unload a range of players at the off-season to help fund the club’s transfer business, together with Barca particularly eager to sell Ivan Rakitic and Arturo Vidal.
Rakitic is understood to be interested in returning to former club Sevilla, while Vidal favours a move to Inter, although the Serie A side have no interest in landing the Chilean within an exchange deal for Martinez.
