Reports: Manchester City using Yaya Toure as bait to try and sign Paul Pogba from Juventus
Unsettled Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure has reportedly been offered as bait to land covered French midfielder Paul Pogba from Europe. The immensely talented and highly rated Pogba is perhaps the most sought after player in European football at the moment.
Toure, who signed a new four-year contract in 2013, has been off-colour for most of this season and is said to be unhappy at the club. However, Manchester City are not the only club to be in the race for Pogba, with reports suggesting that Real Madrid, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain too have made contact with Juventus.
While the Italian champions seem reluctant to offload the 22-year-old, any bids in the range of €100 million will be entertained. City though, are keen on including Toure as a makeweight in the deal, and players like Edin Dzeko, Samir Nasri, Aleksandar Kolarov too will be offered should Juventus reject the part-player exchange.
Playing for Real Madrid or Barcelona priority for Pogba
In spite of many lucrative offers in front of him, playing for Real Madrid or Barcelona remains a top priority for the Pogba. Speaking to Canal+, Real Madrid legend Zinedine Zidane was reported as saying:
“ When we are talking about a player like Pogba, it is only logical Real Madrid are interested in signing him. He is a player with immense potential, who still has an important margin for improvement. He is still young and has an exciting future ahead of him. Where Pogba will play next season? I don’t know the answer to that question. You will have to ask him.”
It has been rumoured that Paul Pogba will be one of the first arrivals as part of the expected shake-up at Manchester City. In spite of Juventus having won the league and being serious contenders for the UEFA Champions League crown, City seem to be confident of luring in Pogba. The latter has been offered wages of £250,000, similar to the sum paid to Yaya Toure.
Should Paul Pogba feature in the Premier League for Manchester City, it will certainly be a massive step in their rebuilding process.