Chelsea Transfer News: Paul Pogba Battle Expected Amid Manchester City Rumours

Chelsea are apparently set for a winter scrap with Premier League rival Manchester City over a potential transfer for Juventus midfield linchpin Paul Pogba.  

Spanish website Fichajes.net (h/t Louis Sealey of Metro), suggest both City and Chelsea remain "keen" on the gifted France international. But the same report also reveals La Liga giants Barcelona maintain an interest in the midfielder valued at "around £73 million."

In fact, Italian publication Gazzetta dello Sport (h/t Joe Short of the Daily Express) has even claimed a pre-contract agreement exists between the 22-year-old Pogba and Barca, with terms all set.

Back in late August, Chelsea were said to be negotiating a deal for Pogba, according to Italian journalist Tancredi Palmeri (h/t the Daily Star's Rhys Turrell).

Negotiations broke down, with Palmeri suggesting Juve were more interested in pursuing a swap deal.

While that deal collapsed, if there remains a chance to get Pogba, many Chelsea fans would likely take it. The club's midfield has been in shambles so far at the start of the new season.

Nemanja Matic, Cesc Fabregas and others have all failed to hit the heights they reached during Chelsea's 2014/15 Premier League title-winning campaign.

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What the Blues really need is a complete player in the middle. While Matic is a robust destroyer defensively, and Fabregas is a shrewd technician in the attacking areas, Pogba offers a game strong in both.

He could easily become the talisman manager Jose Mourinho's side currently lacks. That is, if City don't outbid the Stamford Bridge club first.

The Citizens have clearly tried. Juve goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon dubbed City failing to sign Pogba this summer "important for football," according to David Anderson of the Daily Mirror.

Yet, the best person to ask about Pogba's future remains the player himself. For his part, he insists he's in no hurry to leave Turin.

Ng Han Guan/Associated Press

Stuart Brennan of the Manchester Evening News, who claims City wouldn't pay Pogba's £71 million price tag this summer, recently reported the midfielder expressing his comfort at Juve: “It was never clear that I would leave and there’s no reason I can’t continue here for longer."

Chelsea and City may remain keen, and most top clubs would want Pogba, but Barca will be a more attractive destination than both. That is, if the current UEFA Champions League holders can tempt Pogba away from Serie A.