De Ligt and Morata told to 'think twice' over Barca move by ex-Camp Nou star

Martin Macdonald

• 5 Jan 2022 10:55 GMT
• 3 min read

Miralem Pjanic has warned former team-mates Alvaro Morata and Matthijs de Ligt against leaving Juventus for Barcelona either this January or in the summer.

The Bosnian joined Barcelona from Juventus in 2020 in a controversial deal involving midfielder Arthur Melo, who went in the other direction to Turin.

Pjanic had a terrible time at Barca under Ronald Koeman and only started six La Liga matches in his debut season at Camp Nou.

Eventually, he was shipped off to Besiktas on loan in the summer as the Blaugrana were desperate to get his wages off their salary bill.

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Having not enjoyed a fruitful period in Catalunya, he has some advice for Morata and De Ligt, both of whom have been linked with a transfer to Barcelona recently.

"De Ligt made a big decision when he chose to grow up with [Leonardo] Bonucci and [Giorgio] Chiellini," Pjanic told Tuttosport, in reference to De Ligt's move from Ajax to Juve.

"He is happy at Juventus and, if he is, he should stay there. If you are motivated to try something new, we will see.

"The only advice I would give you is to think twice before leaving a place where you are happy. But sometimes players need motivation and new challenges. Morata will know very well what to do."

In order for Barcelona to sign either De Ligt or Morata, they would have to make major savings on wages. At the moment, they have still not registered Ferran Torres due to this salary issue.

Will De Ligt and Morata join Barcelona?

De Ligt was a target for Barcelona before the Dutchman selected Juventus as his next club in 2019.

It seems highly unlikely that Barca will sign, or even attempt to sign, De Ligt in the January transfer window as Juventus would likely only let the player leave for an astronomical fee.

The Blaugrana have already been creative with their purchase of Torres due to the low amount paid up front, but Juventus are not in as healthy a financial position as Manchester City and would demand more cash initially.

Morata, meanwhile, has emerged as Barca's number one target to fill the centre-forward role at Camp Nou, as although Torres can play in that position, he is viewed more as a wide forward at the club, potentially as a replacement for Ousmane Dembele.

Barcelona believe Morata would be an ideal acquisition in January as his integration into the squad would be relatively simple due to the player having international team-mates such as Sergio Busquets, Gerard Pique, Pedri and Ansu Fati already at Camp Nou.

He has established a link with Torres at international level, too.

The latest on this one is that Juventus are reportedly furious with Barca for allegedly tapping up Morata, who is currently on loan at the Italian giants from Atletico Madrid.

Barcelona would need to negotiate with both Juve and Atletico to sign the Spaniard in January.