Serie A giants Juventus are ready to offer Liverpool their 22-year-old midfielder Marko Pjaca as a part of a swap deal that would see Emre Can moving the other way next month, as per the Italian newspaper Tuttosport.
The club from Turin were keen on landing Can over the summer transfer window but with Liverpool playing hardball, the move failed to come to fruition. Their pursuit, however, hasn’t ended and their chief executive Giuseppe Marotta has reaffirmed that they are tracking his progress, hence, might make an official offer in the January transfer window.
“I won’t deny he is a player we too have monitored and many important clubs will try to close a deal over the next few weeks,” Marotta told Mediaset Premium.
“We are tracking the situation, nothing more.”
Can’s current Liverpool contract runs until the end of the season and although Liverpool want to extend his stay, there hardly is any progress in the negotiations. The German, according to ESPN, want a bumper deal from Liverpool and is using his current contract situation as a ‘leverage’. Juventus, on the other hand, have been his long-term admirers and after failing with an official bid in the summer, they are ready to offer Liverpool Marko Pjaca as part of the swap deal.
Pjaca joined Juventus back in the summer of 2016, penning a five-year contract. The Croatian, however, found it hard to break into Juventus’ first XI and what added further misery was the fact that just four months after, he suffered a cracked fibula while on international duty, which ruled him out for six weeks of the season.
He returned to action in January but again in March 2017, the midfielder suffered an ACL injury while on international duty with Croatia, which has ruled him out for six months. Emre Can, on the other hand, will be open to discuss a pre-contract agreement with foreign clubs. Hence, the best option for Liverpool seems like accepting the swap offer. But the problem with this deal would be Pjaca’s position.
The Croatian is a winger and is described as an exciting prospect, but do Liverpool really need a player of his style? We’ve already acquired Mohamed Salah and the Egyptian is performing out of his skin for the Reds, and for Pjaca, if he joins, would be hard to break into the side that also has the likes of Sadio Mane and Philippe Coutinho.
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