Gossip: Pogba out for £50m or £150m; Sancho doubts

HOW MUCH IS THAT POGGY IN THE WINDOW?
Well according to ESPN, ‘Paul Pogba expects to leave Manchester United this summer, but the club are determined that he will not be sold in a cut-price deal’. And that means that they still want over £150m for the Frenchman, which is ludicrous considering the player wants to leave and the club clearly does not want to keep him. To expect to make a profit of over £60m on Pogba is entirely unrealistic. As the report says, ‘there remain significant doubts about whether Barcelona, Real Madrid or Juventus could afford a substantial transfer fee and Pogba’s hefty wage packet’. You don’t say.

And according to the Daily Mail, Real Madrid value Pogba at just £50m, which is something of a blow to any hopes of getting £150m. But that does seem to be based on the misinformation that Pogba will have just 12 months on his contract after this summer, when actually United will extend that deal for another year to preserve his value. Still, it seems likely that they might have to eventually settle for not making a massive loss.

WHO’S IN FOR MAN UTD?
Jadon Sancho is the name being mentioned in The Athletic but there is some suggestion there that the £100m-plus signing who would command wages of £200,000 a week is unlikely to leave Borussia Dortmund for Manchester United unless they can offer Champions League football. Quite right too. It might have been one of the reasons that the brilliant Erling Haaland chose Germany over the Premier League.

Likely to be interested in a move whatever United’s European status is Jack Grealish, described as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s “No 1 target”. But Grealish may have other offers, with Manchester City also said to be monitoring his progress. The bidding war might start at £80m this summer.

OPINION: It’s time to praise Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after Chelsea win

AND THE REST
Manchester United are considering former Paris St-Germain sporting director Antero Henrique and Red Bull’s head of sport Ralf Rangnick for the role of technical director…Manchester City want to take Bayern Munich’s Serge Gnabry  as part of a deal that will see fellow Germany winger Leroy Sane leave…Olivier Giroud has been offered a deal by Lazio…Stoke City’s Congolese midfielder Giannelli Imbula is discussing a move to Lokomotiv Moscow.