Juve sweeten Pogba deal with Dybala, Bernardeschi
Paulo Dybala and Federico Bernardeschi are among the players being offered to Manchester United as Juventus look for ways to put together a deal to sign Paul Pogba, sources told ESPN.
Juventus are keen to re-sign Pogba, after he left for United in a £89.3 million deal in 2016, following comments from agent Mino Raiola that the midfielder will not sign a new contract at Old Trafford. The contract will expire in 2022 — United have exercised their one-year extension option — when he will become a free agent. Rather than try to sign Pogba in January, Juventus are hoping to agree a deal with United next summer.
Sources told ESPN the Serie A champions are aware they are unlikely to be able to match United’s asking price having taken a financial hit because of the coronavirus pandemic and are exploring other options, including offering players in exchange.
United have been told via intermediaries that both Dybala and Bernardeschi would be made available if Pogba, 27, was allowed to move in the other direction. Dybala came close to moving to Old Trafford in 2019 but manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer pulled out of the deal over concerns the striker did not want to leave Juventus. Dybala’s future at Juve has since become unclear, though, and the 27-year-old hit out at claims he had been in talks over a contract extension after he scored his first Serie A goal of the season last week against Genoa.
“My agent was in Turin for a long time and was never called by the club. It disappoints me to hear talk of invested financial figures,” Dybala told Sky Italia after the game.
“It would be better if the truth could be told, because talking about those aspects in this period pits the fans against me.”
Whether Dybala would now be open to a move to United is the question, while there is a compelling argument for a Pogba-Cristiano Ronaldo swap deal that would see both players return to their former clubs.
Sources told ESPN that United are determined they will not be bullied into accepting a low bid for Pogba despite Raiola’s insistence that he will move, either at the end of his contract or next summer
