Manchester City have left the way open for Manchester United to pursue Paul Pogba after deciding not to go after the France international as part of a summer of extensive transfer recruitment preparing for Pep Guardiola's first season in charge.
United are now weighing up whether to turn their long-standing interest in bringing Pogba back to Old Trafford into an official offer to Juventus.
José Mourinho, the club’s new manager, is another long-term admirer of the Frenchman, having tried before to sign him for Chelsea last year, and Pogba’s name has featured prominently during his discussions with the United executive vice-chairman, Ed Woodward.
Mourinho is close to making the first signing of his reign after Eric Bailly completed his medical examination in Manchester, with a view to the Ivory Coast international signing in a £30m move from Villarreal, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic is widely expected to finalise a free transfer to Old Trafford in the coming weeks.
Ibrahimovic’s deal at Paris Saint-Germain does not expire until June 30th but his salary requirements, well in excess of £200,000 a week, should be ticked off and the only apparent complication is that his wife, Helena, is not entirely sold on the idea of moving to Manchester.
As for Pogba, the matter is not straightforward and United’s desire to see their former player back in their colours has been offset in the past by the acrimonious nature of his 2012 departure and, in particular, that he wanted to leave Old Trafford at the age of 19 and has always seemed to be open to the idea of another transfer in his four years at Juventus.
United’s feeling, going back to David Moyes’s time as manager, was that Pogba might always have a restless streak and he has never appeared fully satisfied despite being on the books of two of the world’s leading clubs.
Pogba would not be cheap by any measure, costing around £65m, and on that basis it has always been viewed as a calculated gamble – one that Moyes shied away from – to spend so much on a player Sir Alex Ferguson once claimed had left without "showing us any respect at all".
At the same time, there is an acceptance at Old Trafford that the previous regime ought to have done more to keep Pogba and that the player’s subsequent development makes it one of the worst oversights of the Ferguson era.
Pogba, 23, has also been on the radar of Barcelona and Real Madrid and his influence for Juventus presents an appealing case for United that he could be part of their midfield for the next decade.
Pogba’s agent, Mino Raiola, also represents Ibrahimovic and has had several discussions with Woodward in the past few months, pre-dating Louis van Gaal’s sacking as manager. Raiola, who also looks after Mario Balotelli, has a reputation as one of the more difficult agents in the business, but his broken relationship with Ferguson is no longer of great consequence now the former manager has little say, even as a director, in the running of the club.
City’s stance indicates they have other priorities. Guardiola’s new employers have already brought in Ilkay Gundogan from Borussia Dortmund and have been quoted a reputed £55m if they also want to sign Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from the same club. Gundogan’s arrival already increases the competition for places in midfield, with no plans for either Fernando or Yaya Touré to leave. As such, the link with Toni Kroos of Real Madrid can be discounted.
As the Guardian revealed in April, City are also making plans to sign Aymeric Laporte despite the Athletic Bilbao centre-half being ruled out until August with a broken leg and dislocated ankle.
(Guardian service)
