Paul Pogba to sign four-year deal to return to Juventus and end Manchester United nightmare – Paper Round

Paul Pogba is set to complete a sensational return to Juventus just six years after leaving the Italian club to re-join Manchester United a then-world record transfer fee of £89 million. The 29-year-old will leave Old Trafford as a free agent for the second time in his career and join Juventus in a move that mirrors his transfer 10 years ago. Pogba will sign a four-year deal with the Serie A side and will even bag a £3.78 million loyalty bonus from United when his contract expires on June 30. The Frenchman reportedly rejected a deal worth more than £290,000 per week to stay in Manchester.

Paper Round’s view: Manchester United to Juventus to Manchester United to Juventus. Football is strange at times. It’s safe to say that Pogba won’t be happy when he reflects on his time back at Old Trafford. He obviously underperformed and struggled with injuries, but he probably found himself to be scapegoated by the English media throughout the past six years. United have been a disaster of a club over the past nine seasons since Sir Alex Ferguson left and Pogba’s time back in Manchester epitomised that period. Hopefully he rediscovers his form in Juventus and proves his doubters wrong.

Ousmane Dembele will delay any decisions over his future despite the fact that he is due to become a free agent this summer when his contract expires at Barcelona. The Mirror reveal that the World Cup winner is wanted by Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain, while Barcelona have made several offers in an attempt to keep Dembele at the Camp Nou. Barca are very keen to keep the 25-year-old, who they paid £120 million for in 2017, but the club are unable to table a realistic contract offer due to “huge financial restrictions”. Dembele will make his final decision when he returns from holiday.

Paper Round’s view: Dembele’s time at Barcelona has been really tough. The French forward has struggled with injuries, which has meant he has failed to find a consistent level of form over the past five years in Spain. However, Dembele is still only 25 years old. There’s still a classy footballer in there – the one we have seen over the past few months under Xavi’s management. It will be a steal for Chelsea or PSG if they manage to sign him for free… but maybe he believes he still has a point to prove at Barcelona – if they can stump up the cash for an improved contract offer.

Liverpool will round up their summer transfer business with the signing of Aberdeen right-back Calvin Ramsay and delay their plan to sign a central midfielder until next summer. The Independent believe that Jurgen Klopp is plotting a move for Borussia Dortmund wonderkid Jude Bellingham in 2023. The German side are unlikely to allow two star names to leave in one window – and have already sold Erling Haaland to Manchester City. Liverpool were previously interested in Aurelien Tchouameni, who eventually signed for Real Madrid.

Paper Round’s view: Bellingham has been linked with Liverpool for around a year now. He seems like the perfect fit for the Reds on paper and it is hard to believe that he is still just 18 years old. It might be positive for Bellingham’s development to give him another season at Dortmund too. He will continue to play a key role for the Bundesliga club, while assuming a senior role in the squad dynamic – despite his young age. Wherever he ends up, he will go on to become one of the best and most complete midfielders in the world for the next 10 years or so.

Fulham are growing confident that they will be able to hijack Wolves’ move for Portugal international Joao Palhinha. The Sporting Lisbon midfielder was close to completing a transfer with Wolves earlier this month, but the Sun reveal that Fulham manager Marco Silva has “held positive talks” with Palhinha in a new twist to the saga. Interestingly, the Sun state that Wolves “remain confident” that they can complete the transfer and the final decision will come down to the player.

Paper Round’s view: This shows the strength in depth of the Premier League. Palhinha was targeted by Manchester United not too long ago and now he could be heading to newly-promoted Fulham. The money in the English top-flight is on another level. There is not another league in the world where a newly-promoted club could rival top-half club for a £20-million player. Living in London instead of Wolverhampton might be an appealing factor for Palhinha, but Wolves would be a much better footballing move. There is a huge Portuguese culture at the club too, which is always handy for helping a foreign player settle in.