Double swoop: Juventus plotting move to land Barcelona duo as talks continue

As talks reportedly continue, Juventus are said to have set their sights on trying to prise both Ousmane Dembele and Arturo Vidal away from Barcelona.

With the expected financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic, it’s likely to result in less spending in the upcoming summer transfer window given the lack of revenue generated and losses incurred by clubs since the lockdown began in March for most of Europe.

In turn, a lot of the speculation in recent weeks has been centred around potential swap deals, either as a straight exchange to avoid transfer fees altogether, or perhaps to bring down the asking price for a particular target.

According to Mundo Deportivo, Juventus hold an interest in both Dembele and Vidal, as they eye a loan move with an option to buy for the Frenchman.

When fit, the 23-year-old has shown his quality as he can be a decisive figure for the Catalan giants. However, the issue is that since he arrived at the Camp Nou in 2017, he’s made just 74 appearances for Barcelona as injuries have blighted his spell thus far.

With that in mind, it’s added that Juve’s desire for an initial loan move is due to the concern over his ability to steer clear of further setbacks, and so if Barca are open to the idea of green lighting an exit for the forward, there could be a potential deal to be made.

Meanwhile, it’s added that Vidal is also of interest to the reigning Serie A champions as they eye a reunion with the combative Chilean international after his previous successful stint in Turin between 2011 and 2015 where he won four Scudetti and three domestic trophies.

It’s suggested that he could enter the operation involving a swap deal for Miralem Pjanic and Mattia De Sciglio, with Arthur not interested in an exit from Barcelona and so he’s seemingly out of the equation.

Time will tell if the pieces fall into place for Juve to land both their touted targets, but with ESPN reporting earlier this week that the Catalan giants are under pressure to raise funds from player sales to help balance their books, they may well be open to exits for the two players in question given the quality and depth they have in those two departments.

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