Juventus want to sign Chelsea midfielder Jorginho in a swap deal for Miralem Pjanic, report agencies. Juventus manager Maurizio Sarri is keen to work with Jorginho again having moved with the Italy midfielder to Chelsea from Napoli in the summer of 2018.
Sarri was sacked by Chelsea after only one season in charge at Stamford Bridge despite securing Champions League qualification via a third-place finish in the Premier League and winning the Europa League.
Jorginho endured a difficult first campaign in England, but has since flourished under the management of Frank Lampard, contributing seven goals from a deep-lying midfield role.
The 28-year-old, who cost Chelsea an initial £50m, has three years remaining on his current contract.
Juventus are exploring their options ahead of the next transfer window and are aware that the current coronavirus pandemic will have an effect on what they can spend. They are willing to include Pjanic in a deal that would see Jorginho arrive in Turin.
Juventus signed Pjanic from Roma for £25m in June 2016 and he currently has only one year left on his contract.
Paris Saint-Germain also want to sign Pjanic, in a swap deal with Argentine midfielder Leandro Paredes and, according to Sky Italy, that is the most "concrete option" at the moment.
The 30-year-old, who has been at Juve since 2016, could have ended up at Barça in a swap involving Arthur but he decided to stay in Catalonia. The PSG sporting director, Leonardo, is a huge admirer of Pjanic.
Arthur’s decision meant Juventus stepped up negotiations with Chelsea to see if they would consider letting go Jorginho, who signed two years ago in the same summer as Sarri. After a difficult first season the 28-year-old has become one of Chelsea’s best players.
Paradoxically, the improvement in his form came after Sarri left for Juventus and was replaced by Frank Lampard. Jorginho spent three seasons with Sarri at Napoli before following him to Chelsea.
Pjanic has a contract until 2023 but the Bosnian has failed to convince Sarri he is a key member of the Juve squad.