J.M. Bertran of Sport believes a deal has been brokered between Barcelona and Juventus for French midfielder Paul Pogba to make the move to Catalonia in the summer of 2016, which if true means City have now missed out on one of their top targets for the 2015 transfer window.
There’ve been rumours for some time that Pogba was set to reject a move to City in favour of a Barcelona transfer, although it did look like The Blues were still confident they had a chance of signing the former United man, with the Premier League side reportedly willing to meet any demands had by Juventus (who are believed to want around £70 million) and Paul Pogba.
However, it appears Pogba is set to remain with Juventus for another year, before making a big-money move to La Liga next summer. Barca’s transfer ban ends for the January window, but Pogba is likely to have played for Juve in the Champions League prior to that, which makes it a better move for him to make in 12 months.
This news is disappointing for City fans, with many keen on signing Pogba this summer. He’d undoubtedly have remained in the squad for a number of years, hopefully bringing success along with that. However, the loss of the Frenchman now makes it even more imperative players like Raheem Sterling are signed, with Khaldoon Al Mubarak having already promised the signings of high-quality players this summer.
The deal is unlikely to be confirmed until a new Barcelona president is elected on July 18th, but the transfer looks all but done now.
