Barcelona paper claims Bayern Munich have made a bid for Miralem Pjanic (Updated)

With the season over and only the Euros left over the horizon, Bayern Munich are being linked with as many midfielders as the press can get their hands on. While the Wijnaldum rumors ultimately went nowhere, now a paper based in Barcelona claim that the Bavarians are one of several clubs bidding for Miralem Pjanic.

The Bosnian midfielder moved from Juventus to the Catalan capital last summer, while Arthur moved the other way. Neither player helped their respective clubs very much, and the transfers amounted to little more than vehicles for accounting shenanigans to help Barca and Juve cope with their awful financial situation.

Now, Barca are looking to sell Pjanic, if Mundo Deportivo is to be believed. This is almost certainly true, as the player has been poor for Barca and they’ll want his wages off the books as soon as possible. The names linked with him are the usual ones — Chelsea, Juventus, and Bayern Munich. Unfortunately, that’s where the plausibility of the rumor breaks down somewhat.

Miralem Pjanic is 31-years-old, and as someone who watches Juve and Barca semi-regularly, I can say that he hasn’t had a good season since 2019. If he’s extremely cheap to get, then maybe Bayern could take a shot at singing him. Otherwise, he lacks the mobility to be a mainstay in the club’s pressing-based system, and his experience would be offset by his inevitably high wage demands. At that point, you’re just better off relying on Marc Roca.

For now, we can assume that there’s no truth to this rumor, and Bayern will keep looking for new midfielders elsewhere.

Update

Per Bild, Bayern Munich aren’t looking for midfield reinforcements this summer. That doesn’t seem like a good idea, but maybe it’s for the best if the option is Miralem Pjanic.