Paul Pogba 'Intent' on Sealing Juventus Return
By Tom Gott
Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba is keen to make a move back to Juventus when he manages to secure an exit from Old Trafford.
Pogba's agent, Mino Raiola, recently claimed that Pogba is unhappy at United and is eager to leave the club next summer, when he will enter the final year of his contract.
According to The Times, Pogba shares that view and wants to see Raiola negotiate him a move away from United, and Juventus are at the top of his list of dream destinations.
Pogba spent four years in Turin between 2012 and 2016, and it was there that he really rose to prominence and convinced United to shell out a club-record fee of £89m to bring him back to Old Trafford.
Juventus sporting director Fabio Paratici fuelled the fire recently by admitting that the club 'love Pogba very much'. However, ESPN state that United don't believe Juventus have the money to sign Pogba at the minute, and the same can be said of fellow suitors Real Madrid and Barcelona.
United believe that the financial impact of the COVID-19 outbreak will likely see them receive players-plus-cash swap deals for Pogba, but they are not prepared to accept bids involving players who are not already on their target list.
It's a technique which Juventus tried last summer. Fabrizio Romano told his Here We Go podcast that both Douglas Costa and Miralem Pjanic were offered to United in exchange for Pogba, but the Red Devils had no interest in doing business.
Having said all that, The Sun counter those claims by suggesting that United may lower their demands for Pogba to somewhere closer to the £50m mark - a sentiment which is disputed by numerous other sources.
With all this going on, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was left to decide whether to play Pogba in Tuesday's crucial Champions League meeting with RB Leipzig.
The Frenchman started on the bench and was only introduced when United were 2-0 down, but he was inspirational in helping his team claw it back to 3-2. It's led to frustration from some fans over the decision to bench Pogba, but the Daily Mail believe the midfielder has spoken amicably with Solskjaer about the decision.
The pair, who still maintain a professional relationship, are said to have been open and honest about everything that is going on, and it has only strengthened the idea that Pogba could leave the club in the near future.
While a summer exit is seen as most likely by the majority of sources, the idea of Pogba leaving in January is not thought to have been ruled out. United would prefer to wait until the end of the season, but they do not want to lose Pogba for free and may be open to selling in the unlikely event that the right offer arrives in January.