Arsenal Could Land Midfield Target But Signing Would Come At A Huge Cost

Managers are now making moves to try and strengthen their squads during the January transfer window so we’ll bring you all the latest gossip from around the globe. Today, Juventus are lining-up a big swap deal with Arsenal….

According to reports today, Arsenal could get their hands on reported midfield target Miralem Pjanic but it would mean losing superstar striker Alexis Sanchez to Juventus.

The Mirror reported earlier this month that Arsene Wenger was a long-term admirer of Pjanic and had held personal talks with the midfielder about a potential move to the Emirates this coming summer.

The newspaper added that Wenger was encouraged by the Bosnian international’s positive response to the idea of joining Arsenal and was ready to test Juve’s resolve with an opening £28m offer.

Pjanic has developed in to one of the best all-round midfielders in Italian football in recent years and he could be the ideal replacement for Santi Cazorla – who’s out-of-contract in June and has endured another injury-plagued campaign.

However, it looks as though Juventus are now ready to use our interest in Pjanic to their advantage with the Telegraph citing reports coming from Tuttosport that claim the Serie A champions will use the 26-year-old as a make-weight to try and land Sanchez.

The Italian outlet indicates that while the likes of Chelsea, Man City and PSG are all keeping a close eye on the Chilean international’s contract talks, Juve are seemingly ready to cement their interest with a sensational swap proposal.

Sanchez is in the final 18 months of his current contract and is yet to agree terms over an extension with the Gunners struggling to meet his wage demands amid reported big-money offers from China.

Obviously the club are desperate to tie him down to an extension but if no new deal is agreed by the summer then we may be forced to cash-in and it looks as though we could be offered the chance to sign a top class midfielder in exchange.

However, any potential swap deal for Pjanic would have to include a significant cash sum too as Sanchez is worth a lot more than the Bosnian – even with just 12 months left on his deal.

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We’ll have to wait and see how things develop over the coming weeks but my gut feeling is nothing will come of this as big-money swap deals very rarely go through. If Sanchez doesn’t sign a new deal and we decide to cash-in, then I expect he’ll leave in a straight cash deal.