Manchester United Transfer News: Latest James Rodriguez and Paul Pogba Rumours

Manchester United have reportedly told Real Madrid winger James Rodriguez to expect an offer from Old Trafford in the near future. Elsewhere, Barcelona have admitted they couldn't compete with the Red Devils in the hunt for Paul Pogba.

According to Spanish newspaper El Confidencial, United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward has already been in talks with Rodriguez's agent regarding an "imminent" £54 million offer (h/t Metro's Tom Olver).

Paul White/Associated Press

United manager Jose Mourinho has been busy adding to his squad this transfer window. Henrikh Mkhitaryan cost £26.3 million, according to Mike Keegan and Anthony Hay of MailOnline, while centre-back Eric Bailly set the Red Devils back another £30 million, per David Anderson and Ed Malyon of the Mirror.

However, the Premier League giants could now pounce for the Colombia international after Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane was quoted by MailOnline's Matt Maltby as claiming the size of the current squad presents an issue.

Zidane said:

"

The idea with James is the same as with everyone else - he's a Real Madrid player. 

I'm not going to tell you that James is a starter. He's an important player. We'll see what happens this year, I have a big squad and it's complicated.

I have to play the most competitive side I can and I'll do the same thing this season, that's my responsibility.

"

It's always been the case that Rodriguez has struggled to land a starting spot at the Santiago Bernabeu, with the BBC trio of Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo firmly established as the club's front three.

Voters in a recent beIN Sports poll also voiced the majority opinion that Rodriguez would be better off leaving the reigning European champions in search of more guaranteed first-team football:

Of Rodriguez's 32 appearances last season, only 21 came as part of the starting XI, and the former FC Porto ace played the full 90 minutes on just eight occasions, slipping way down the pecking order at times.

Meanwhile, Barcelona's international adviser, Ariedo Braida, has admitted the club couldn't compete with United in pursuit of Pogba just as the Red Devils look set to re-sign the player for a fee in excess of £100 million.

He told Italian broadcaster Canale 21 (h/t the Mirror's Adrian Kajumba):

"

Clearly when you talk about figures that go over €100 million, you need to reflect on them. It all comes down to the TV rights that brought in a lot of money and completely changed the logic of the transfer market. Clearly all players are overrated to some degree or another at this stage.

We know Pogba, he is a player who proved to be very strong and, for a while, Barcelona were interested, but clearly the dynamics changed and once the figures reached a certain point, we were no longer interested.

"

Braida added that the player's salary is also a concern in these transfer scenarios, voicing concerns with the fact that over a five-year contract, wages "can amount to tens of millions."

United are the favourites to bring their former academy starlet back to Old Trafford, and ESPN FC's Jake Cohen spoke of his surprise to not see a Spanish club go "bigger" for the Juventus marvel:

Per Kajumba's report, the Red Devils are said to be closing in on a five-year, £210,000-a-week agreement with the France international, who left the club for Turin in 2012.

Even Barca's spending power has been pushed to the limit in the race to sign Pogba, it seems, but the television rights deal continues to give Premier League teams their ability to push that extra yard in the transfer window.