Despite being the underdogs, Manchester United are still one of the clubs interested in signing Miralem Pjanic from Roma, according to repetitive claims from Italy.
The 26-year-old is reportedly a personal ask from José Mourinho, which would of course put Ed Woodward under pressure.
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Barcelona, PSG and Real Madrid are the favourites to sign the midfielder, as they are Pjanic’s Preferred clubs to join this summer. Pjanic started his football career in France, is fond of the country, and therefore he’d look more kindly toward PSG than Manchester United.
Despite all the claimed interest, no official offers have been made so far, Gazzetta says. Roma have only received a few approaches, nothing more than that. However, the Italian media insist Pjanic is one of the most wanted players this window and the clubs’ interest should be confirmed soon.
Pjanic now has a €38m release clause. But during the 2017 summer window, when there’ll be less than one year left on his contract, this price will drop to €28m. That’s why selling him now would be good business for Roma to do, unless they can negotiate a new deal.
Every summer and winter window Pjanic is linked with a move to England, and of course it hasn’t ever happened. There’s not really a great deal to suggest this time it’s any different, and claiming he’s a ‘personal ask’ of Mourinho is perhaps just a new way of spicing things up.
Pjanic is a talented player, but isn’t blessed with a great deal of pace and hasn’t got the physical attributes Mourinho often looks for, but he could well be used in a Number 10 role, depending how the Portuguese manager sees his Manchester United team playing.
Lucas Sposito.