Juventus are planning a significant summer move to bring Paul Pogba back to the club from Manchester United.
That’s according to both Gazzetta dello Sport and Corriere dello Sport, who both say the Italian giants believe a deal can now be done to bring the French midfielder back to Italy.
Gazzetta explain that Juventus have ‘never forgotten’ Pogba after selling him to Manchester United and he remains a ‘great dream’ for the club.
However, ‘now there is hope’ according to Corriere, who say that his agent Mino Raiola has opened the door for a move to happen this summer.
The super-agent recently claimed that “As for Ibra, also for Paul, Italy is a second home and he wouldn’t mind going back to Juve,” and that been considered as Raiola informing Juventus that a deal can be done.
Juventus are now looking at it from all angles, not only considering it from a sporting side but also in terms of marketing.
The biggest obstacle to a deal is the finances, with Manchester United likely to demand a considerable price for a player they paid €110 million for four years ago.
Even though Pogba hasn’t endured a great time in England, he is still valuable and, by the end of this season, his price tag will have been amortised.
This means that Ed Woodward could sell for as little as €20m and still make a profit, according to Gazzetta, although that is unlikely.
Juventus, though, can try to use it to their advantage and negotiate a deal that would involve an exchange with either Adrien Rabiot or Aaron Ramsey.
Juve value both those players at €25-30m and if Manchester United were open to taking either, Pogba’s value would rise to €45m. Add expenditure of about €100m for a five-year contract, and the whole operation would cost around €150m.
Corriere go one further and state that Juventus would have to spend €250 million, around €100m in recruitment and €30m for five years on a contract, to get Pogba out Manchester United.
The Serie A giants are keen though, as Agnelli is looking to enlist ‘a new Ronaldo’, IE a younger player with greater potential for the sponsors in the medium to long term.
Every move the club is making is aimed at that goal and Pogba fits the bill perfectly, even if his stock has fallen slightly in the last four years.
If they were to sign him from Manchester United, though, it would mean giving him status second only to Ronaldo in terms of wages and add at least €20m to the wage bill.
According to both newspapers, Juventus aren’t the only ones keen, with Real Madrid likely to be lurking in the background as well.
They were heavily linked last summer, and Gazzetta describe them as a potential ‘pitfall’, while Corriere have them as an ‘obstacle’.
Nonetheless, Juventus’ dream’ has now become a reality, and it seems like last year, Paul Pogba will be in the headlines once again.
