Chelsea Transfer News: Latest Rumours on Paul Pogba, Kevin De Bruyne and More

The agent of reported Chelsea target Paul Pogba has claimed that any club wishing to prise him away from Juventus will have to shell out in excess of £74 million.

After blossoming into one of the game’s finest midfield men, the young Frenchman has been linked with a host of European football’s most illustrious names. But as revealed by agent Mino Raiola in Marca (h/t the London Evening Standard), he’s a not a player who’s going to come cheap, citing Real Madrid as potential suitors:

"

He is very focused on his life and his career. Nothing is insurmountable for him. I know he's liked a lot by Madrid coaches Zinedine Zidane and Carlo Ancelotti, but Paul's only thinking about Juve right now.

Money's not a problem for clubs like Real Madrid. The cost of signing him would be €100 million [£74m] - whoever signs him gets the star of the next generation of players.

"

MANU FERNANDEZ/Associated Press

According to the aforementioned piece, the likes of Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United are also interested in the 21-year-old Bianconeri man. Indeed, it seems that there are not many clubs on the continent who have the kind of money to back a bid for the French international.

But it’s a sum of money that Pogba would definitely be worth, as we can see here:

While Pogba plays the game with an irrepressible panache, as a young midfielder his talents are still somewhat malleable. Arguably, if he wants to add an underpinning fortitude to complement his array of technical and physical qualities, joining up with Jose Mourinho and Chelsea would be the perfect move for him.

Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images

As noted by Italian football expert Adam Digby, despite establishing himself as one of the best midfielders around, Pogba is still refining various facets of his game:

If he was to become a Blue, a potential midfield partnership alongside Nemanja Matic would be indomitable. Pogba would be the ideal foil for the imposing Serbian and his ability to surge from deep with his patented purpose would give Chelsea a downright scary attacking dimension. But even Mourinho may struggle to lure him to Stamford Bridge.

Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images

Real Madrid are a huge draw for any young player and it seems Raiola may be tempting them into bidding for his client reading into the aforementioned quotes. Meanwhile, the prospect of playing for the Ligue 1 champions PSG and earning a lucrative salary is definitely a tantalising prospect for any Frenchman.

As noted by sports journalist Pete O’Rourke, Raiola revealed that despite the potential fee he would command, there are suitors aplenty for Pogba to rival the Blues:

Missing out on Pogba—who has the class to become the world’s finest player—would a blow for Chelsea, but reports suggest that he isn’t the only up-and-coming midfielder the Blues might be targeting, with rumours emerging that Mourinho might try to bring Kevin De Bruyne back to Stamford Bridge.

Martin Meissner/Associated Press

According to Steve Bates of the Sunday People and the Mirror, Manchester City are serious about landing the Belgian playmaker this summer and will bid £27 million to bring him to the Etihad Stadium. But the report also claims Chelsea are flirting with the notion of re-signing the midfielder, who was let go by Mourinho in January 2014.

As we can see, since leaving London, De Bruyne has flourished at Wolfsburg:

Signing a player after selling them earlier in their career may seem like a bit of a naive move, but Chelsea are proof of the potential benefits of doing so. The Blues brought Matic back from Benfica last January despite letting him go in 2011 and the Serbian has been magnificent at the base of the Blues’ midfield.

Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

It seems that if the player is good enough then it’s feasible for Chelsea and, as noted by German football expert Alex Chaffer, De Bruyne definitely is good enough:

But this is a deal that looks unlikely to materialise. Chelsea already boast a surfeit of attacking midfield men and as good as De Bruyne is, his opportunities would surely be limited alongside the likes of Eden Hazard, Oscar, Cesc Fabregas, Willian and Juan Cuadrado.

The key factor in his recent upturn in form is regular playing time at Wolfsburg and that’s something the player himself will surely consider looking forward. With that in mind, City—who have an ageing squad in need of replenishment—may well be an ideal environment for him in the long-term; certainly more so than Stamford Bridge.