According to Rob Draper at the Daily Mail, Barcelona are very confident Paul Pogba will join them at the start of the 2016-17 transfer window, despite heavy interest from City and Paris Saint-Germain.
There had been rumours Pogba would stay with Juventus for another 12 months, as he was keen to sign for Barcelona who currently have a transfer ban, but City persisted with their efforts in trying to sign him and almost looked set to make a bid for the former Manchester United midfielder. However, it would appear that the rumours Pogba wanted to make a La Liga move, instead of a return to the Premier League, are true.
The Frenchman was thought to be one of – if not, the – top target for Manuel Pellegrini’s team this summer, with a replacement for Yaya Toure desperately needed as soon as possible. Despite a £70 million pricetag – which would make Pogba City’s record signing by some distance – City were keen on Pogba and have been linked with him on a regular basis over the past few months.
If the Juventus midfielder is set to reject City and wait until a Catalan move is available in twelve months’ time, then The Blues are likely to look elsewhere for their midfield targets, and rumours that they were interested in signing Bayer Levekusen’s Lars Bender are likely to become more frequent.
This represents hopefully the last transfer blow City will suffer this summer.
