With Real Madrid focusing their attention on signing one or both of Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland this summer, the idea that Paul Pogba could move to Spain has seemingly evaporated.
That leaves two clubs who want and could accommodate the Manchester United star, whose contract at Old Trafford expires in the summer.
Those are Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain, with the former being a return to his old comfort zone, while the latter a brand new adventure in his home country.
This is looked at by both the Italian and French media on Wednesday, with Tuttosport kicking things off by claiming the Frenchman would rather go back to Turin if he is to leave Manchester United.
They explain he is ‘waiting for the great return’, but add that Paris Saint-Germain are lurking; a move which the player wouldn’t be against either.
Before he commits to a move back to France, though, he wants to ‘be sure that there is no hope’ of a transfer to Juventus, where Max Allegri is described as a sponsor, wanting ‘more experience’ in his midfield.
Not only that, but the midfielder’s agent, Mino Raiola, gets on swimmingly with the Serie A side, where another one of his stars, Matthijs De Ligt, currently plays.
Tuttosport look at the pros and cons, and agree that his ability and likelihood of becoming a hugely important player for Juventus makes his wages somewhat acceptable in the project’s big picture.
And yet, Le Parisien and their information on Wednesday is very different.
While Paris Saint-Germain want Aurélien Tchouaméni, the idea of bringing in Paul Pogba alongside him remains a possibility.
It’s made clear the Frenchman ‘wants’ to move to the French capital, having already told those around him of his ‘desire to play under Parisian colours’.
The big question is whether the club want to engage in a relationship as much as he does, and while that might have been the case a few years ago, it isn’t so much these days.
Kicking off what could be described as a three-course meal of doubts, the starter is the big commission that Raiola will want, while the main course is the fact the last three free transfers the club agreed on, meaning Sergio Ramos, Georginio Wijnaldum and Lionel Messi, haven’t exactly worked out.
Finally, the dessert with a cherry on top is the fact Pogba hasn’t lit the world on fire of late, as his form, especially for Manchester United, has been anything but stellar.
This is why Le Parisien ask whether Paris Saint-Germain should give him a ‘golden bridge’ across the Channel, since there’s no guarantees of which player they will be getting.
Will it be the Manchester United Pogba or the one that helped France lift the World Cup in 2018?
