It’s less than 36 hours now until the summer transfer window closes, so there is a ton of Manchester United related rumors and gossip to discuss. As always, take it all with a grain of salt until it is actually deemed official. That said, let’s dive right in with latest on Paul Pogba.
It’s pretty obvious that Pogba and manager Jose Mourinho aren’t exactly BFF, but only those on the inside know for certain the level of discord between the two men. It could be as bad as some media outlets have sensationalized, or those stories could be very inaccurate, as Mourinho has often claimed.
What we do know is that the Frenchman hasn’t been all that he can be at United, and now the Daily Mail claims that he really wants out. Not only is he desperate to leave, but he’s also found his suitor already, FC Barcelona, and he’s reached a £350,000-a-week agreement with the Catalan Club.
The Mail adds that Pogba has made it known to players and staff that he wants to bolt and he’s also “sent a text message to Ed Woodward, informing United’s executive vice-chairman of his desire to go, although the club flatly deny this.”
United have no interest in selling him, especially just two years after bringing him back. If the time is indeed up on his second stint at United, then the experience would be rather reminiscent of Angel Di Maria- record breaking money, out of this world hype, disappointing production, moved on to another club very quickly.
In staying with the “I don’t think I really want to play for Mourinho that much” motif, the prospects for acquiring Bayern Munich centre back Jerome Boateng had looked promising, but he has since changed his mind, thanks in part to an intervention by Bayern boss Niko Kovac.
The two sides were in negotiations that coincided with their friendly this past weekend, but German newspaper Bild says that Boateng himself called Mourinho to explain his decision.
So there’s another central defender target crossed off the list. Where will United turn next before the window closes?
Leicester City’s Harry Maguire is a dead end, with Foxes boss Claude Puel making it known that his England World Cup star is off the market. Puel told Sky Sports (h/t Manchester Evening News):
“Of course, [keeping Maguire] is very important, we discussed this with the owner because we wanted to keep good ambition.”
“We lost Riyad Mahrez who was an important player for us. It’s important to keep our players and to add some more good players to strengthen the team.
“For me it’s a good thing for Leicester to keep our valuable players in the team. A player like Ndidi, Vardy all of these players are important for us. It’s important to keep them for next season.
“I can understand there is some speculation because we have good players and they are interesting for some other teams. For the moment, we are happy to keep them and to start, I hope, a great season.”
Okay, so who’s next, what about Toby Alderweireld? What’s the latest on the situation surrounding the stellar Tottenham Hotspur man?
There is nothing definitive at this point, as there are a lot of conflicting reports out there, which means no one really knows anything for sure. We’ve seen plenty of “he’s going to join United in the next 48 hours” stories for days already.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, is currently a regular contributor to SB Nation, WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
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