Chelsea and Man City have been handed a transfer boost as Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu has insisted that Paul Pogba isn’t on their radar.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Bartomeu was discussing the transfer saga ahead of the club’s presidential elections on July 18 when he is expected to be replaced.
“Pogba is not a priority even though you can not predict the future. Luis Enrique, however, did not ask for the player,” he said.
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The Catalan giants had an €80m bid rejected by Juve earlier this month, with City said to have been alerted by the news and in turn are reportedly preparing their own bid, as reported by the Express.
Meanwhile, Chelsea are also monitoring the situation with a view to offering Oscar in a potential player-plus-money exchange deal as suggested by the Express, and so it remains to be seen who is able to take the lead in the race to sign Pogba.
The Serie A champions appear adamant that they will not sell him this summer given that they have already rejected such a sizeable offer from Barcelona, but an even bigger bid could question their resolve.
The 22-year-old has quickly developed into one of the leading midfielders in Europe since his switch to Turin, playing a pivotal role in the club’s return to the top domestically as well as helping them to an appearance in the Champions League final last season.
However, with Carlos Tevez leaving for Boca Juniors and Andrea Pirlo starting a new adventure in New York, the Bianconeri will recognise the importance of keeping Pogba in order to lead their new-look team ahead of the new campaign.
Juve director general Beppe Marotta has insisted that the player himself has even stressed to the club that he has no plans to leave, as reported by Sky Sports, and so it may well take an exceptional bid in order to change their minds.
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