Juventus offered Manchester United Miralem Pjanic and Douglas Costa for Paul Pogba
According to reports, Juventus offered Manchester United Miralem Pjanic and Douglas Costa to tempt them to part with World Cup winner Paul Pogba this summer.
The Italian giants have been keen to bring back their former player over the last few transfer windows and were willing to negotiate a mammoth swap deal with the Red Devils for the player's signature.
Paul Pogba rose through the youth ranks at Manchester United before leaving the club for Juventus in 2012 due to a lack of playing time at Old Trafford. At Juventus, Pogba became one of the best midfielders in the world. His performances drew attention from some of the biggest clubs in Europe.
Pogba eventually re-signed with Manchester United in the summer of 2016 for a then world-record fee of £89 million. The Frenchman was expected to lead Manchester United into a new era and was signed as the player around whom the club would build their squad.
However, the 27-year-old has failed to live up to the hype at Old Trafford. He has shown glimpses of his class and ability but has been largely inconsistent during his four years at Manchester. Poor performances coupled with recurrent injuries and questionable off-field antics has made Pogba a scapegoat at Manchester United.
The former Juventus midfielder has made a poor start to the 2020-21 season, receiving heavy criticism for his performances against Crystal Palace, Tottenham, and Arsenal.
Pogba's agent Mino Raiola was vocal about his client's unhappiness and desire to leave Old Trafford this week. He went on to say that a return to Juventus could still be on the cards for the player.
Manchester United rejected Juventus' offer to focus on signing Jadon Sancho
According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Juventus were reportedly keen to sign Pogba this summer and were willing to part with midfielder Miralem Pjanic and winger Douglas Costa in exchange for the France international.
Costa was heavily linked with a move to Manchester United in the summer, but the Red Devils chose to focus their efforts on landing Borussia Dortmund forward Jadon Sancho, which they ultimately failed to do.
"Juventus offered Pjanic and Douglas Costa to Manchester United for Paul Pogba to start talks, but Manchester United turned it down," Romano said on the Here We Go podcast.
"Juventus are in the race to sign Pogba. They will try again for a swap deal. If that doesn't work, Juventus will need to sell important players first to finance the Pogba deal," added Romano.
Miralem Pjanic left Juventus to join Barcelona in a swap deal that saw Artur Melo join the Old Lady. Douglas Costa, on the other hand, has joined Bayern Munich on loan for the season.
The Bianconeri may wait till next summer to sign Pogba. The Frenchman will enter the final year of his current deal with United, which would reduce his price tag.