Paul Pogba has been described as ‘effectively gone’ at Manchester United and the club have reportedly already started to plan for life without him.
The France international has fewer than three months left on his £290,000-per-week contract at Old Trafford and Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus are among the clubs keen on him.
The 29-year-old remaining at United has yet to be ruled out because there is no guarantee the French and Italian giants can offer the wages he wants, with Juventus reportedly only able to offer £8million a season – just over half of his current £15m wage at Old Trafford.
But the Manchester Evening News claim they have been told Pogba is ‘effectively gone’ at United, and that the club has being preparing for his departure for most of the season.
The report adds those plans have included a look towards the summer transfer window, when they will look to sign at least one new midfielder, with Pogba’s France team-mate Aurelien Tchouameni among those linked.
The same outlet claims PSG have made a bid for Pogba, the terms of which are believed to be lower than the final package United put together in a seemingly futile attempt to convince the midfielder to stay.
The report claims, however, that Pogba prefers a return to Juventus – who he left for £89million in 2016 for United – and that Real Madrid’s interest has subsided significantly since fellow Frenchman Zinedine Zidane left last year.
Pogba remained coy last week on his future but struggled to hide his disappointment at United’s results, telling French TV programme Telefoot: ‘The season is not over yet, but almost because we don’t have any more titles to play for.
‘I want to win titles, to play for something and this year and the last few years we haven’t won a title. It’s sad.
‘Totally [playing for France is a breath of fresh air]. That’s the truth. There were difficult moments at United and I needed this break to regain my energy and confidence.”