Juventus May Be Close To Signing Barcelona Star Dubbed 'Next Xavi,' Report Claims

Serie A giants Juventus are reportedly close to signing Barcelona midfielder who was once dubbed as the next Xavi Hernandez.

Multiple sources previously reported that Juventus and Barcelona are in talks for a possible swapping of players. The deal appears to have taken its first step as Mundo Deportivo (via 90min.com) reported that Juventus are said to be in “advanced negotiations” with Barcelona for Arthur Melo.

Reports also claimed that the Catalan club is open to the idea of selling Arthur, however, the 23-year-old himself has not made a decision yet.

Juve are said to be “immersed” in their aim to lure Arthur to make the switch to Italian football. However, it was also reported that the Brazilian is happy with Barcelona and is becoming more accustomed to the club.

Arthur is a central midfielder who has emerged as a unique talent with his abilities in protecting the ball. He was also known for always finding his teammates and making the best passing choice because of his "GPS-like" qualities inside the pitch. Many believe that Arthur could fill-in the shoes left by Barcelona legend Xavi after his impressive performance last year.

In fact, in an interview with Catalunya Radio published on Oct. 31, 2018 (transcript by Ronaldo.com), Xavi himself accepted the resemblance of his playing style with Arthur.

"I see myself when I see Arthur on television. He is a very quick thinker. He has a natural talent, but most of all, he has a lot of room to improve through training,” Xavi said.

This season, Arthur has managed just 12 starts in LaLiga and his lack of consistent involvement is believed to be the reason why he’s now linked with a move away from Camp Nou. However, according to a report from Don Balon (via Everything Barca), Barcelona captain Lionel Messi has also asked the club to sell off Arthur in the upcoming transfer window. But in 2019-20 season, the Brazilian youngster hasn’t been efficient in controlling the midfield.

Arthur dropped one of his worst Barcelona performances in this year’s El Clasico. He was outdone by Federico Valverde and also missed a one-on-one against Thibaut Courtois that could have changed the complexion of the game. Despite having less contributions this season, Inter and Tottenham have both already expressed their interest in Arhur.

Aside from Arthur, another player linked with the said Juventus-Barcelona negotiations is Matthijs de Ligt. Barcelona already showed interest in De Ligt in the past but eventually ended up with Juventus. But now, the young centre-back is believed to be keen on making a move to Barcelona should another opportunity to join the club arise once again.