The Telegraph are reporting that a deal for Paul Pogba is likely to be confirmed and announced by Sunday, when the player is due to return to Juventus for training. The £110 million deal is expected to be tied up by then if it has not been already, so that the Frenchman can join up with Jose Mourinho and his team for training in time for the new season.
It will see an end to one of the longest transfer sagas in recent years, after a move for the 23-year-old has been dragged out through the summer.
Now attentions will turn to how Pogba performs in the red of Manchester United in his second stint at the club, with perhaps more pressure than any new signing at Old Trafford has ever had. The club obliterated their record transfer fee to sign the man that they sold for £800,000, after he was unhappy that Paul Scholes returned from his retirement and limited Pogba’s first team chances as he sought to break into the first team.
However, the Mirror claim that the spending will not stop there – far from it – and there could be a £70 million attempt to lure James Rodriguez to Old Trafford from Real Madrid.
The Colombian’s future has been in doubt since Zinedine Zidane’s arrival at the club, and although he looked set to stay a few weeks ago, Marca claim that the Galactico’s position could be set to change once again as they have put a £70 million price tag on his head after two disappointing seasons at the Bernabeu where he has failed to displace the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema.
With a similar player having signed already this summer in Henrikh Mkhitaryan and the club having spent nearly £200 million already, such a move seems unlikely this summer even with Mourinho’s power of persuasion. The club may well revisit the deal next summer, but how likely it is that James Rodriguez will still be a Real Madrid player then will be a different matter entirely, and by then the Red Devils may have other priorities.
Defensively, changes have seemed likely all summer, and now the Manchester Evening News claim that one victim could be Phil Jones. Valued at £10 million, it is believed that Hull City were preparing an offer to take the 21-year-old on loan before Bruce’s resignation as manager, and the Manchester club are now enquiring to see if the Tigers’ interest in the defender still stands as they seek to offload him.
Jones was highly praised by Sir Alex Ferguson previously, and whilst not convincing, has shown potential in his time at Old Trafford. It is perhaps surprising that the club are trying to get rid of the English centre back so quickly after Jose Mourinho’s arrival, despite him targeting many more high profile and experienced defenders in that position.
The MEN also report on the fact that Marcos Rojo may now remain a United player, despite having been told that he has no future at the club. This may be what has forced the club to look to sell Jones.
The Argentine is said to have turned down a move to China to team up with Sven Goran Eriksson and may now remain in Manchester despite being told he has no role at the club in the coming season and will have no long term future.
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