Chelsea appear to have made contact with Juventus for the transfer of midfielder Paul Pogba, a player valued at around €100million by his current club, the news comes from the reliable GFFN.
Pogba is of course in demand and is regarded as one of the best midfielders in Europe, and he is only 23. Pogba has developed very well in Serie A but it seems as if this summer he would like to move on. Barcelona and Real Madrid are two serious contenders, but the former has financial constraints that may restrict a big money move. Chelsea do not. Chelsea’s lack of Champions League status may come back to haunt them in this one though as there will be plenty of big name clubs with European status that have the money to attract Pogba. At this stage, Juventus surely seems a better destination for Pogba than Chelsea, who appear to view Radja Nainggolan as a more realistic central midfield addition.
There no point in trying to portray the strengths of Pogba and how he would improve Chelsea, because for anyone whose seen him play, it is pretty obvious. The fact that it is hard to name a central midfielder better than him and he’s only 23, says it all.
The real question is can Chelsea really afford to sign him, and make the other additions that Antonio Conte wants to make? For example he is looking at signing a new striker and central defender also, both around the £20million-£30million mark. The lack of Champions League football and the fact that Chelsea are planning to utilise more of their academy products raises question marks as to whether Chelsea are seriously pursuing a deal, or they just wish to stay ‘in the loop’ with Pogba’s future updates.
In terms of who could and would realistically sign Pogba for €100million, there are probably only four clubs. Real Madrid, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea. Should Pogba confirm his intentions to move on from Juventus this summer, then you can expect all four clubs to be interested. What looks certain is that nothing will happen until Euro 2016 is over, so it’s best to sweep this one under the carpet for a few weeks.
