Real Madrid Transfer News: Latest on Paul Pogba and Significant Blancos Rumours

Real Madrid will have to break the transfer world record if they’re to land Paul Pogba in the summer transfer window, according to the player’s agent Mino Raiola.

As noted by Anthony Chapman of the Express, the French international has attracted attention from a host of illustrious clubs across the continent—including Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea—after a string of stellar displays at Juventus. But if those teams are to lure him away from Turin, they’ll have to stump up the cash, as suggested Raiola in an interview with Telefoot:

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Pogba could go to one of six teams. When the right moment arrives this summer we will take it but moving isn't an objective itself. We're in no hurry.

If he goes he will break Ronaldo's transfer record.

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MANU FERNANDEZ/Associated Press

Since leaving United, Pogba has gone on to develop his game toward stratospheric levels. At this juncture, he is arguably the most multi-faceted player in European football and at the age of just 21, is a talent that can still get even better. With that in mind it’s easy to see why Los Blancos may be in the running for his signature.

Massimo Pinca/Associated Press

Indeed, Bleacher Report’s Spanish football expert Guillem Balague expects the European champions to go all out for Pogba in the summer window:

With Sami Khedira and Asier Illarramendi—per Chapman's piece—set to leave this summer, it’s easy to see why the capital club may target a central midfielder. For Madridistas, the prospect of Pogba’s array of skills alongside the serene playmaking abilities of Toni Kroos in central midfield represents a tantalising prospect.

They could face staunch competition for his signature, though. According to Bleacher Report’s French football expert Jonathan Johnson, Paris Saint-Germain are prepared to move mountains in order to land Pogba:

As ludicrous as it may seem, if Pogba was to move for a fee of £80 million it would probably represent value for money. Already he is one of the game’s finest midfielders and the prospect of him making further refinements and getting even better is an ominous one for opponents. The longevity Los Blancos could get from him would make for a fine investment.

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But with so many top clubs apparently looking to land Pogba, even a club that boasts a gravitas like Madrid must have a contingency plan. According to reports, Carlo Ancelotti’s could be PSG midfielder Marco Verratti.

Jonathan Green of the Daily Star cited reports in Spain which claim the former PSG boss is keen on a reunion with the diminutive playmaker. During his stint with the Parisians, Ancelotti beat competition to sign the Italian and he’s blossomed during his time at the heart of the French champions' midfield. But his agent Donato Di Campli was coy when pressed on a potential transfer.

Christophe Ena/Associated Press

“We'll see what the future holds”, he told Tuttosport (h/t Green’s piece). “But there is more chance to see him play in Italy than Real Madrid, but still we do not know where.”

Here are the kind of qualities Verratti would add to the heart of this Real Madrid team:

As we can see here courtesy of WhoScored.com, the Azzurri man has much more to his game than his regularly revered playmaking skills:

If the Italian is to leave Paris in the summer you suspect it’ll be for a club that can give him regular football. Even though Madrid could lose players like Khedira and Illarramendi in the summer, Verratti wouldn’t be guaranteed a starting spot if he went there.

That’s not to say he isn’t a supremely talented player, of course. But at this juncture he is not at the level of Pogba and—as his eight yellow cards this season illustrate, per WhoScored.com—the 22-year-old still has some maturing to do. All things considered, currently the Parc des Princes is a better environment for him to continue growing as a player than the Santiago Bernabeu.