“Everyone knows the willingness of Paul to move on,” super agent Mino Raiola said on Friday. Paul Pogba, arguably Raiola’s top client, has been repeatedly linked with a move away from Manchester United this summer having last month stated: “Now could be a good time to find a new challenge.” Raiola’s comments will only fuel speculation of a second Old Trafford exit.
The World Cup winner may have flattered to deceive in the eyes of some last season, yet when on song, Pogba is one of the finest in his position and while there would be no shortage of suitors in the France star, with Raiola’s comments likely to have been music to the ears of Europe’s big hitters, feasibly speaking, there are two teams leading the race for his services.
Real Madrid head the queue for Pogba
Real Madrid have made no secret of their desire to sign Pogba, nor have Juventus in their quest to see him return to Turin. While it remains to be seen whether the 26-year-old will be part of United’s pre-season tour, with the Premier League side expecting the midfielder to be on the flight that departs for Australia on Sunday, what is all but certain is that it is looking increasingly unlikely that Pogba will be a United player by the time the transfer window shuts next month.
Indeed, Real Madrid lead the way to be his next club at 8/11 on the Sportsbook, with head coach Zinedine Zidane keen on linking up with his compatriot. While president Florentino Perez favours a move for Tottenham’s Christian Eriksen, part of the reason for Zidane’s return to Real Madrid was that he oversaw a squad revamp, so if United are willing to sanction his sale than Los Blancos are likely to front the queue.
And despite being keen on bringing Pogba back to Italy, the captures of Aaron Ramsey and Adrien Rabiot from Arsenal and PSG, respectively, means Juventus are now out at 9/2 to be his next club. With Pogba admitting he fancies a new challenge, a return to a familiar stomping ground would perhaps be considered a sideways step in his career having dominated Italy during his four years with the Old Lady.
Having already spent upwards of £60m to sign both Daniel James and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, United are looking to sell and raise funds to land other targets and if Pogba does depart; Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will hope to identify a sufficient replacement to occupy the attacking midfielder in his favoured 4-3-3 setup.
Tottenham to beat United to possible Pogba successors
As one midfielder potentially departs for Spain, one may yet leave Real Betis for England as Pogba’s successor. Giovani Lo Celso remains on United’s radar and, at present, are at 25/1 to be the Argentine’s next club. However, United aren’t among the frontrunners to sign Lo Celso, with Premier League rivals Tottenham leading the way for the 23-year-old.
A quick glance shows Spurs as overwhelming 3/10 favourites to sign Lo Celso, with the Argentina international eager to work under compatriot Mauricio Pochettino at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Whatever the outcome this summer, Real Betis stand to make a huge profit on the youngster. The LaLiga side secured his services permanently from PSG for a paltry £20m in April, and reports suggest they will demand interested parties pay his £88m release clause to sign Lo Celso, though teams are confident of negotiating that down.
Either way, Lo Celso is a man in demand in England this summer and rightly so having chipped in with 14 goals and five assists in league and European competition last season, but it’s likely that United are set to miss out on his services, which may also prove the case with Dani Olmo. The Spaniard shone at the U21 Euros as he had a direct hand in a goal in every appearance, scoring three and assisting one at the competition. As with Lo Celso, Spurs look set to win the race to sign the 21-year-old.
Reports this week suggest Spurs have an agreement in place to land Olmo, who’d be following the same path as Luka Modric 11 years ago in joining from Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb. Rather, United may look to replace Pogba with the capture of Bruno Fernandes from Sporting. United may have drifted from 1/5 to 1/3 to be the Portugal international’s next club on the Sportsbook, but Solskjaer’s side lead the way for the midfielder, who was one of two players to register double figures for both goals (20) and assists (13) in Liga NOS last season.
Sevilla hitman set for Old Trafford switch?
“There will probably be some more business done,” Solskjaer said recently with Fernandes, Leicester centre-back Harry Maguire and Newcastle’s Sean Longstaff all top of the Norwegian’s wishlist. Another striker is also likely to come in at Old Trafford with Romelu Lukaku set for a summer exit after two years in Manchester. The Belgian is at 1/6 to move to Inter and link up with Antonio Conte this summer and replacing Lukaku could see, like Lo Celso, a player swap Seville for England.
Wissam Ben Yedder is being considered as Lukaku’s successor as United’s leading forward and having recently seen partner in crime Pablo Sarabia depart for PSG – Ben Yedder and Sarabia combined to score 11 goals between them in LaLiga last season – the Frenchman may look to follow the Spaniard away from Spain, regardless of Sevilla’s major recruitment drive.
Ben Yedder has a £35.9m release clause, which for a striker that netted 18 clear-cut goalscoring opportunities, the joint-best return in LaLiga last term, represents a bargain the current market. Amidst rumours of a possible move to Manchester, United are the favourites to secure his services at 5/4, that in itself a potential money maker considering the furore surrounding the 28-year-old’s future.
Arsenal favourites to sign out of favour Real Madrid winger
And Ben Yedder isn’t the only 28-year-old being linked with a move away from Spain to England. Real Madrid still need to raise funds in order to help cover the cost of their possible move for Pogba and a host of young and fringe players have been made available for transfer, with Lucas Vazquez among those on the market
The Spain international played a bit part role for Los Blancos last season, yet registered 1502 minutes of league action last season. However, one goal and three assists was a fairly pitiful return for the winger in a team of Real Madrid’s stature and with the arrival of Eden Hazard, Zidane is prepared to let Vazquez leave the Bernabeu.
Over the past few days, Arsenal have made their interest known with a £31m offer supposedly in the offing as Unai Emery aims to shake up a Gunners squad stuck in a rut. It’s seen Arsenal emerge as 7/4 favourites to be Vazquez’s next club on the Sportsbook with Emery looking to add another wide threat to his squad, which comes as rumours of a move for Yannick Carrasco begin to cool.
With Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan both on the market, investing in the final third is crucial and Vazquez would offer directness and speed on the flanks that the Gunners lack last season and allow for Emery to potentially move away from a three-man defensive system back to a more familiar 4-2-3-1 system.
Source: Betfair Premier League
