Real Madrid have made Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba their number one target for the summer, reports in Spain have claimed.
Los Blancos aren’t expected to make many signings over the summer, Sport adds, but a central midfielder is the priority and Pogba is the player identified by the Santiago Bernabeu hierarchy.
Pogba is also attracting interest from Paris Saint-Germain, while Arturo Vidal, also of Juve, has been dismissed as a signing for Madrid.
Sport reports that talks have already begun between the clubs, although Juve general manager Beppe Marotta denied transfers were on the agenda when he met with Madrid this week.
“I had a friendly meeting with Carlo Ancelotti and Madrid and we talked about many things,” Marotta said.
“I wouldn’t tell you if we talked about transfers, but we didn’t talk about transfers.”
Juventus are reluctant to sell the France midfielder and would hold out for an inflated fee in the region of €65m, it is claimed, but there’s a chance they could loosen their resolve by the summer.
The Turin club have also asked Madrid about Fabio Coentrao, Angel Di Maria and Alvaro Morata and while Madrid don’t want Di Maria to leave, would consider letting him go in return for Pogba.
Coentrao could still join Manchester United, with Morata on the agenda for Rafael Benitez and Napoli.
Madrid, meanwhile, are also interested in Fernando Llorente, but an approach is not expected since Madrid will only sign a striker to support Karim Benzema, not replace, and Llorente’s price tag is prohibitive.
A further meeting between representatives of the clubs is set for next month when the futures of all the players involved – Pogba, Di Maria, Coentrao and Morata – will be further decided.
