Reports suggesting that Manchester United are interested in bringing back Paul Pogba to Old Trafford have gathered pace with Jose Mourinho desperate to make the French midfielder his fourth signing as new United boss.
Having let Pogba leave on a free transfer to Serie A champions Juventus in 2012, it is now widely reported that United will not hesitate in attempting to organise a return for the 23-year-old, potentially paying a world-record fee to beat Europe's other big clubs to sign the promising midfielder.
The fight for the Frenchman
United are currently the bookies' favourite the land the signature of the box to box midfielder. However, Spanish giants Real Madrid are also very keen to sign Pogba. Despite this, many potential suitors have balked at the huge fee that Juventus will demand for their main man. United, on the other hand, are keen to deliver Mourinho's major transfer target this summer, according to the Telegraph.
In the past, Real Madrid have used their iconic history, already strong squad and large budget to prize many players away from Manchester to sunny Spain. Cristiano Ronaldo, David Beckham, and Ruud van Nistelrooy are the main examples of this. However, it is reported that Mourinho, who managed Real Madrid before his second spell at Chelsea, is determined to bring Pogba back to United at any cost.
Reports from Italian journalist Gianluca di Marzio suggest that it is United, mainly due to their large transfer budget thanks to great commercial deals, who are in pole position to sign the Juventus man. Madrid are less keen to break the record transfer fee, which they have already broken more times than any other club, because they already have other options in midfield.
Could Pogba's agent play a big part in the youngsters future?
It was rumoured that Mino Raiola, Pogba's agent, was one of the main reasons that Pogba left United in 2012, due to asking for wages for his client that Sir Alex Ferguson and United were unwilling to pay at the time. This will have only played a part as the main reason Pogba was insistent on leaving was due to the lack of first team chances he was getting. However, Raiola could now play a big part in persuading Pogba to return to Manchester, rather than taking a possible more lucrative offer of going to play for the European Champions, Real Madrid.
Raiola is also the agent of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, both players that have already moved to United this summer, and could potentially want another one of his clients to be part of the possible rejuvenation of United this summer.
When negotiating between Borussia Dortmund and United for the transfer of Mkhitaryan, it is rumoured that Raiola 'threw chairs' and pressured Dortmund into making the sale to the Premier League club to be done as quickly as possible, a reputation with an agent like that could prove to play a big part if he is keen for his client, Pogba, to make the switch back to England and United.