Euro Paper Talk: Juventus make sensational Pogba, Morata claims

Juventus say they are willing to re-sign Paul Pogba and Alvaro Morata, while Liverpool have a Plan B for Thomas Lemar this summer, according to Wednesday’s European papers.

 

TURIN RETURN FOR POGBA AND MORATA?

Juventus chief Giuseppe Marotta says an extraordinary return to Turin for Paul Pogba and Alvaro Morata is a possibility.

Both Pogba and Morata played for the Old Lady before leaving Turin and with both players struggling for their respective clubs in the Premier League they have been linked with a return to Juve.

Pogba returned to Manchester United in the summer of 2016, while Spain striker Morata moved to Chelsea last summer via Real Madrid.

“A return for Pogba or Morata? I don’t believe in returning horses, but there are exceptions,” the chief explained to Mediaset Premium.

“They can be two exceptions, they are two good guys who have left good memories here. But the stories they have concocted in Madrid and Manchester are false.

“Did we spend €90 million on Higuain? When Pogba left, it was an extraordinary expense. But we have a lot of imagination, besides the names of Pogba and Morata.”

 

LIVERPOOL DRAW UP PLAN B FOR THOMAS LEMAR

Liverpool will battle Tottenham for the signing of Bruno Fernandes this summer, according to reports in the Portuguese press.

It’s claimed the Reds and Spurs both had scouts in attendance this weekend to watch the Sporting Lisbon star score a dramatic 80th-minute winner in their 4-3 win over Belenenses.

The 23-year-old has a huge €100million (£87m) release clause in his deal and Sporting would demand that entire fee with Portuguese paper A Bola claiming they will not entertain any offers below that.

Fernandes has scored 14 goals this season and has also weighed in with a number of assists to underline his attacking credentials from midfield.

Reds boss Jurgen Klopp was on Tuesday linked with Jorginho and Thomas Lemar in a £142m double swoop and it’s believed a move for Fernandes would only materialise if a raid for the Monaco man failed to materialise.

It’s suggested the Reds have already made contact with Fernandes’ agent to see if a move to the Premier League would be of interest to the four-times capped star, who only joined the club from Sampdoria last summer.

 

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AND THE REST

Arsenal are interested in signing Real Madrid star Karim Benzema – but are only willing to pay £35m for his signature (Diario Gol)

Liverpool will sign Ruben Neves in the summer (Marcus Alves)

Barcelona want to sign James Rodriguez from Real Madrid with the Colombian seen as a replacement for Ivan Rakitic, who could join Manchester United (Don Balon)

PSG are ready to meet the £173m release clause in the contract of Real Madrid’s all-action midfielder Casemiro (Diario AS)

 

As a result, Arsenal are set to launch a €60million bid for PSG midfielder Adrien Rabiot, with Juventus also interested (Tuttosport)

Galatasaray are set to table a £2.5million offer to Man City for defender Jason Denayer (Turkish Football)

Paul Pogba has been offered to Paris Saint-Germain, but the FFP restrictions on the Ligue 1 giants makes a deal extremely difficult (Le10 Sport)

Jose Mourinho wants to offload Pogba and bring in £50m Shakhtar Donetsk star Fred as his replacement (Le10 Sport)

 

Manchester United will sign Portugal international right-back Joao Cancelo in the summer window (El Gol Digital)

AC Milan defender Leonardo Bonucci will snub a move to Real Madrid in news that could reignite Chelsea’s interest (Don Balon)

Barcelona are ‘weighing up’ an offer in the region of €65million (£60m) for Manchester United forward Anthony Martial or Fulham’s Ryan Sessegnon should they fail to secure a deal for Antoine Griezmann (Mundo Deportivo)

Barcelona remain frontrunners to sign Matias de Ligt, but now face strong competition from Bayern Munich for the Ajax starlet (Mundo Deportivo)

 

AC Milan goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma has also been offered to PSG (AS)

Christian Eriksen has held tentative talks about leaving Tottenham this summer amid claims he is being sounded out over £100million moves to one of Barcelona and Manchester United

Juventus have agreed a deal to sign Lucas Digne from Barcelona this summer with the Spanish side keen to move the Frenchman on (Gazzetta dello Sport)

Everton are keen to secure the services of Ajax midfielder Hakim Ziyech this summer (De Telegraaf)

Sime Vrsaljko’s agent says Juventus and Napoli are interested in the Atletico Madrid full-back (Radio CRC)

Denis Suarez has vowed to succeed at Barcelona after making a rare start in Tuesday’s 2-2 draw at Celta Vigo (Mundo Deportivo)

Hoffenheim are hoping to tie Nadiem Amiri to a new contract, amid claims he is being chased by Tottenham, Arsenal and Manchester United (Bild)

Barcelona spokesman Josep Vives has confirmed talks over a new deal with Samuel Umtiti are ongoing, despite reports he is now wanted by Real Madrid as well as Manchester United (Sport)

Roberto Gagliardini’s season looks over, after the Inter Milan midfielder was stretchered off with a thigh injury in the win over Cagliari (Gazzetta dello Sport)

Zinedine Zidane has insisted Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema could stay at Real Madrid this summer (Marca)

Adria Bernabe will be the next young talent from La Masia to make the move to England after agreeing a contract with Manchester City ahead of Barcelona (Sport)

Bayern Munich have confirmed midfielder Arturo Vidal will miss the rest of the season after a knee injury was deemed more serious than originally feared

No amount of money offered with convince Liverpool to cash in on Mohamed Salah this summer, amid claims Real Madrid could make a £200m approach

Zinedine Zidane claims Real Madrid didn’t sign Kepa Arrizabalaga in January because they already had three goalkeepers in their ranks (Marca)