Manchester United have agreed to pay Juventus’ €120 million (£101.3m) asking price for Paul Pogba, sources have told ESPN FC, and are now hoping to come to an agreement over the final fees in order to clinch the deal by this weekend.
If that is the case, Pogba could have a medical in Miami by Friday evening, with the Premier League club now so optimistic a deal will be concluded that they have already made the necessary provisions.
The last detail that needs to be resolved is over the €25m fee for his agent Mino Raiola, with Juventus having previously insisted that United must pay the sum in total.
However, the Old Trafford hierarchy are hoping to bring that down by at least €10m and sources have told ESPN FC that negotiations are now going more smoothly.
That was not the case earlier in the week when United were frustrated at the impasse, and sources revealed that manager Jose Mourinho was even considering setting a deadline on the deal for next week. One source close to United had said that the next 48 hours would be make or break for the transfer.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane is a huge admirer of the France international and wants to bring him in this summer, but president Florentino Perez is not as determined to secure his signature.
Real did make contact with Juventus this week over Pogba, but sources told ESPN FC that Perez was not going to pay as much as United for the midfielder.
The possibility of a bid from the Champions League winners did cause a stir at Old Trafford, however, and forced a decision on Juventus’ asking price. They have now agreed to meet the €120m fee, with only a few steps remaining for the transfer to be concluded.
-espnfc