Miralem Pjanic joined reigning Italian champions Juventus in what was definitely the most shocking transfer in Serie A this summer so far.
The Bosnian international left AS Roma, the club in which he was playing since 2011, for €32 million.
Last season's third places team were able to offer some resistance to the Bianconeri’s dominance in the peninsula during the past few years, so it was quite a surprise when they lost one of their biggest stars to a direct rival. This even angered some of his teammates such as Radja Nainggolan, who said he would never speak to him again.
The reason behind it
The midfielder said the main reason he wanted the move was to win titles.
“My Objectives? Trophies. I’ll be available to the team and I will do my best. The most important thing is the team and I’ll try to help out on the pitch and be one extra for the upcoming season,” he said to the club’s official website.
The 26-year-old's targets are understandable, as in his nine year career he was never able to obtain a major trophy, only winning the second division with Metz back in 2007 during his first year as a professional.
He joined Olympique Lyon right after they won seven league titles in a row back in 2008, but they never were able to lift the trophy again, and at Roma he finished second twice during his five year spell (one of them being the greatest season in the history of the club, in 2013-2014).
What the future holds
This will be a great opportunity for Pjanic to finally celebrate a title as Juventus are dominating more than ever, winning back to back domestic doubles and are building an extremely competitive team to battle for the Champions League. In the last two seasons, Pjanic was the top assist provider in Serie A, so this will be a huge addition to a midfield already counting with the likes of Claudio Marchisio, Paul Pogba and Sami Khedira in its lines.