Paul Pogba’s future at Juventus remains uncertain and reports suggest Chelsea will pursue the Frenchman up until the final hours of the transfer window on Sept. 1.
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Pogba, 22, is valued at $110 million by reigning Italian champions Juventus and the French international midfielder has been linked with Barcelona, Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain throughout the summer transfer window.
However, according to the London Evening Standard, Chelsea is seriously considering a monster bid of $110 million (that would be a British transfer record) for the man they call “The Octopus” in Turin, as his powerful displays in midfield for club and country over the last few years have seen him become the hottest midfield commodity in European soccer. The Daily Mail reports that Chelsea has already had an $85 million bid for Pogba turned down by Juve but are confident of getting the deal done with an improved offer.
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Why would Chelsea need to sign Pogba when they already have Nemanja Matic and Cesc Fabregas in central midfield?
Well, that duo haven’t performed anywhere near their level from last season so far this campaign and with Chelsea failing to register a single clean sheet throughout preseason and their opening three games in the PL (conceding seven times in their first three league games) Mourinho has realized that Matic and Fabregas cannot play together as the two holding midfielders in the 4-2-3-1 formation he prefers. In their 3-0 humbling at the hands of Manchester City 10 days ago Fabregas was a statue and unable to stop City pouring forward from midfield and putting pressure on Chelsea’s backline. With the potential for Pogba to play alongside Matic, that would be one of the most destructive and toughest center midfield partnerships to breach in Europe.
After signing Pedro Rodriguez for $34 million last week and adding left back Baba Rahman for $30 million, plus chasing a $60 million move for John Stones, the Blues are certainly realizing they need serious strengthening and Roman Abramovich is providing the cash for Mourinho to bolster his squad significantly late in the window. Right now, Juve don’t want to let Pogba go but if a $110 million bid comes in and Chelsea offer a few of their fringe first-team players on loan -- they already loaned Juan Cuadrado to Juventus this week -- maybe they will be willing to cash in on the player who named the best young player at the 2014 World Cup.
Pogba will leave Juventus one day, that’s for sure, but will he arrive at Stamford Bridge before the window shuts next Tuesday?