Paper Round: £60m Anthony Martial linked with Juventus transfer

Jose Mourinho is considering allowing the sale of Manchester United striker Anthony Martial. He has started intermittently in his second season under Mourinho, and the Portuguese manager is considering raising funds by selling the 22-year-old France international. While there is some disagreement over his role in attack, Martial would like to stay despite recently rejecting a new contract offer. Atletico Madrid, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain are all interested in the player, rated at £60m.

Paper Round’s view: Manchester United now have Marcus Rashford, Alexis Sanchez, Romelu Lukaku, Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata to play in the front three, so while Martial has done well at times, it makes sense to raise funds to reinforce the defence. If he is to be replaced with another attacker, £60m would likely be enough to find a more consistent performer. It is a risk to let such a talented player go, though.

Pep Guardiola recently caused a stir when he claimed he was offered the chance to sign Paul Pogba by his agent, Mino Raiola. A story in Sports Illustrated suggests he wasn’t just offered to City, but other clubs including Real Madrid. Real turned down the offer because they feel his performances of the last two seasons do not merit his fee, and the wages he would demand would upset the wage structure they have at the club.

Paper Round’s view: Given Cristiano Ronaldo’s self-regard, it is hard to see him accepting Pogba’s arrival with good grace, it would probably compound Real’s wage problems as Ronaldo and others demand parity with the 25-year-old France international. However, Pogba clearly has the talent to make the difference even to Real Madrid, and would probably elevate his form if he was surrounded in a better team with vastly superior players.

Atletico Madrid are desperate to keep hold of Antoine Griezmann, and will offer him £300,000 a week in order to stay at the club. Barcelona are said to be interested in signing the 27-year-old French forward, and Manchester United hold a longstanding interest in the player. Diego Simeone recently committed his future to the club, and has been promised by Atletico that they will attempt to keep Griezmann out of the clutches of any competitors.

Paper Round’s view: Simeone has been able to attract and keep players who might otherwise have signed for bigger clubs, so this will give Atletico a slight advantage in persuading him to stay. The problem for the club is not Simeone, or even money, but there have been problems between Griezmann and the club’s fans. It seems almost inevitable that Griezmann will leave in the summer whatever he is offered, after he came close to joining United in 2017.

Mousa Dembele’s contract is running out at Tottenham Hotspur, and the 30-year-old Belgium international will be a free agent at the end of next season. That has attracted the interest of Italian champions Juventus, who were impressed by Dembele when the two sides met in the Champions League earlier this season. Juventus would like to sign Liverpool’s Emre Can on a free transfer, but are growing frustrated with the time taken to seal a deal.

Paper Round’s view: Juventus are adept at picking up bargains each summer. Dembele is a fantastic player who appears to be edging towards the exit at Spurs, and his contract situation means that he will be available relatively cheaply in the summer. If Juventus can manage the situation to buy both Dembele on the cheap and Can for nothing this summer, they will probably be able to move on one of their existing players for a profit.