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Barcelona are set to continue their summer exodus beyond the transfer deadline by sending Miralem Pjanic to Turkish side Besiktas.

It has been a turbulent summer at Camp Nou due to their extraordinary debts. Devastatingly, they had to release club legend Lionel Messi, who moved to Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer. There was no room left for him to be reinstated onto their wage bill following the expiry of his contract.

In addition, on deadline day, Barcelona got rid of one of their other highest earners, Antoine Griezmann. The French forward returned to Atletico Madrid after an underwhelming, if not totally disastrous, two-year spell.

The likes of Junior Firpo (to Leeds United), Francisco Trincao (to Wolves), Ilaix Moriba (to RB Leipzig) and Emerson Royal (to Tottenham Hotspur) also moved on at various points throughout the summer.

It will take more than a few player exits to resolve their financial situation, but it has at least been a step in the right direction. And they are about to remove a further burden from their books.

Things have not worked out for Pjanic since his move from Juventus last summer. The central midfielder managed just six starts in the 2020-21 La Liga season.

He was angling for a return to Italy, where he previously represented Juventus and Roma, throughout the transfer window. Alternatively, there were some rumours about a move to the Premier League.

Pjanic has never played in England before, but has attracted long-term interest from a number of Premier League clubs. In July, it was claimed that Tottenham would be the best fit for him. He had also been linked with London rivals Chelsea and Arsenal.

But the English deadline passed without any such club making a move for him. It seemed his misfortune under Ronald Koeman was going to continue into a second year.

However, a solution has emerged just in time for the 31-year-old. As first reported by VOLE journalist Yagiz Sabuncuoglu and since confirmed by transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Pjanic is on his way to Besiktas.

The transfer window in Turkey remains open until 8th September. Therefore, anyone trying to offload players still can send them there.

Arsenal’s Mohamed Elneny is also a target for Besiktas, for example, while there have been rumours about Fenerbahce trying to sign Divock Origi from Liverpool.

Pjanic making loan move

But Pjanic’s move to Turkey with Besiktas is much more concrete. Indeed, the player has posted a picture of himself on board a plane. Sabuncuoglu updated that Pjanic will arrive in Istanbul at 10:30pm.

Romano reveals that the Bosnia and Herzegovina international did not want to spend six months on the bench at Barcelona. Therefore, he gave more thought to a move outside one of Europe’s so-called top five leagues.

Barcelona and Besiktas are thus at work to determine how they will share his wage payments, as it will be a season-long loan deal.

Another transfer reporter, Nicolo Schira, believes they will split the wages 50-50. He also confirms that Pjanic will take his Besiktas medical on Friday.

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