Ideal Toure replacement at Man City? This Serie A midfielder could be a luxury signing for Guardiola

According to reports, Juventus have turned down a £50million bid from Manchester City for their star midfielder Miralem Pjanic.

Manchester City romped to the Premier League title last season by amassing a record 100 points and scoring 106 goals. Pep Guardiola will be keen to retain the title but must strengthen his squad. And reportedly he wants to add Juventus midfielder Pjanic in summer.

However, Juventus have rejected City’s first bid for Pjanic but should the Premier League champions come up with an improved bid for the Bosnian?

Pjanic, 28, is considered as one of the most gifted midfielders in the Serie A. The creative midfielder has been playing in Italy since moving to Roma from Lyon in 2011.

He spent five years at the Stadio Olimpico before joining Juventus in the summer of 2016. He has managed to make his mark in Turin, with the midfielder winning back-to-back doubles consisting of the league title and the Coppa Italia.

The Bosnian is an artist in the middle of the park, exhibiting control over all aspects of the game and doing so in an elegant manner. With his passing abilities, vision and creativity, he is the perfect deep-lying playmaker – someone in the mould of former AC Milan and Juventus midfielder Andrea Pirlo.

A talented, tenacious and forward-thinking midfielder with huge technical qualities, Pjanic is usually deployed in a central role but he is equally adept at playing in more and advanced roles. His main attributes are his wide array of passing and dribbling skills, while his deliveries from set-pieces are pretty accurate.

A renowned set-piece specialist, Pjanic is capable of producing moments of brilliance and turning games on its head in a blink of an eye.

Guardiola wants to add the industry and creativity of Pjanic to his squad to help City retain the title in the 2018/19 campaign. Currently, City have the likes of Fernandinho, David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan as midfield options.

Yaya Toure has left City after eight long years, thereby creating a void which needs to be filled by Guardiola in the summer.

Pjanic could be the ideal player to fill the big boots of the Ivorian. The Bosnian is an energetic box-to-box midfielder and could also become a long-term replacement for David Silva.

Due to his versatility, Pjanic could also slot in as a defensive midfielder whenever required which could help reduce the burden from Fernandinho’s shoulders.

In a nutshell, City’s interest in a complete midfielder in the mould of Pjanic makes complete sense. Playing alongside the likes of Leroy Sane and De Bruyne, the 28-year-old will have the liberty to develop his own game at the Etihad Stadium.

He would perfectly fit into Guardiola’s style of play and will have ample opportunities to demonstrate his class and poise in the Premier League and in Europe.