Pjanic Buy! Why Europe's Top Clubs Are Right to Covet Roma Playmaker

Multiple media outlets, including talkSPORT, have suggested Miralem Pjanic is a target for Tottenham Hotspur this summer.

German daily newspaper Bild have also credited Borussia Dortmund with an interest in the playmaker, with the club supposedly identifying him as a successor to Mario Gotze in the No. 10 position.

While the Bosnian would no longer be a necessary signing for Spurs given Sky Sports' confirmation of Paulinho's arrival in North London, clubs are right to be checking in on him and his situation at Roma.

After Pjanic broke onto the scene in Ligue 1 with Metz, the club's relegation allowed many of Europe's top suitors to signal their interest in a cut-price deal.

Lyon won the race, but after a promising start to his career in Rhone, he fell down the pecking order due to Yoann Gourcuff's presence. In the summer of 2011, Roma shelled out €11 million for him and his career took off once more.

Until Zdenek Zeman arrived.

Pjanic started the 2012-13 season in the starting XI alongside Daniele De Rossi and Michael Bradley, with his club drawing 2-2 at home to Catania. He ducked in and out of the lineup from there, until Zeman eventually dropped him.

General manager Franco Baldini, via Yahoo! Sport, even had to allay fears of a bust-up between them at one point in the season, and the Bosnian rarely got a look-in until Aurelio Andreazzoli took charge.

Injuries decimated the latter part of the season for him, and the now-23-year-old Pjanic will look back with disappointment, yet again, at another campaign in which his progression has severely stalled.

He should be marching to stardom, but instead he's not even considered in many conversations regarding the best midfield playmakers in football. It's a fact that suggests his career hasn't panned out as many assumed it would.

But Pjanic should not be forgotten, and given a good run in the first team under Rudi Garcia, plenty of envious eyes will be watching his every move once more.

There's a rise of a new-style playmaker that Thiago Alcantara so easily embodies, and the Bosnian is in the mould. Able to play as a flat central midfielder or as a No. 10 in a variety of formations, he demonstrates the range of skills many coaches are now looking for.

Combative yet majestic, aggressive with a touch of finesse: Used correctly and given an injury-free run, Pjanic still has every chance of developing into one of the world's best midfield playmakers.

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