Home » Paul Pogba’s fate intertwined with that of two other midfielders

Paul Pogba’s fate intertwined with that of two other midfielders

by Red Billy

The future of three world class midfielders have become dependent on one another as Real Madrid and Manchester United decide what to do next.

According to Spanish outlet AS, Real want to sign both Paul Pogba and Rennes’ 17-year-old sensation Eduardo Camavinga in the summer transfer window.

‘The signing of Camavinga is independent of the signing of Pogba’ is the title of AS’s latest report on los Blancos’ midfield rebuilding project, but given the asking price of both players, this seems like wishful thinking.

Camavinga is a holding midfield player who has defied his young age to register arguably the best statistics of any world player in that position.

But his achievements have not gone unnoticed and Rennes are expecting a bidding war which they expect to reach in excess of €50 million (£46 million).

And whilst AS claims that United ‘cannot now ask for more than a hundred’ million Euros (£92 million) for Pogba, the current financial climate means it is highly unlikely that los Merengues will be able to fund both transfers.

Add to this the reported pre-contract agreement that Real have with another world class midfielder, Ajax’s Donny Van de Beek, with a fee of €55 million (£50 million) agreed for a summer transfer, and the situation becomes quite complicated.

Given also the fact that Real’s reported top summer transfer target remains PSG forward Kylian Mbappe, the Spanish side quite simply need to prioritise which of the three midfield targets they want to pursue, with the Red Devils left in a strong position to take (or keep) the other two.

If Real complete the purchase of Van de Beek, Pogba would look set to stay at Old Trafford, with other suitors Juventus unable to raise either the transfer fee or salary that would be required to land the Frenchman.

It might also rule los Merengues out of the Camavinga race. This would leave United still facing plenty of opposition from the likes of Barcelona, Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea, and Bayern Munich, but the Red Devils would have an ace up their sleeve as Pogba would be at Old Trafford to act as mentor to his young compatriot.

On the other hand, if Real’s head coach Zinedine Zidane finally gets his wish to add Pogba to his squad, both Van de Beek and Camavinga will be up for grabs, with United arguably in pole position to sign them using the funds acquired through the sale of the 27-year-old.

It is shaping up to be an intriguing game of transfer chess involving two giants of world football and from which the Red Devils are more than likely to benefit, one way or another.

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